Our research continues on the new direction.

The hosts can be conditionally divided into two categories: those which provide the only type of service (shared, VPS or dedicated), content (adult, warez, images, files) or OS (windows, linux) - the "narrow specialized", and those which are offering full spectrum of hosting services and even domain names - the "versatile" ones.

Sometimes, specialists have lower costs for their offers, than the versatile hosts for the same service, and also it is often told, that specialists have higher performance.

So the question is: which type of hosts will be more preferred when a person is looking for the solution?

In other words, will you (or do you think) prefer the VPS-specialized host to the Versatile when looking for a VPS?

Or maybe there is no any dependence at all?

Express your points please.

I think it's just human nature to include specialized vendors in any search for a specific product or service. The perception could be that since this is what they specialize in, they must be experts at it, and thus do it better than a more versatile vendor. That's not always the case.

If you're searching for a VPS solution, I'd recommend querying a mix of providers, and selecting the one most matched to your specific requirements.

Having an large assortment of products/services to offer can sometimes hinder your business rather than help.

Specializing in a certain product/service gives you more focus towards delivering the best possible product/service, whereas offering many takes away from that focus, because your attention is divided among those products/services.

We all want to grow our brand, but not at the expense of our products/services quality suffering in the process.

Do one thing and do it well.

I do agree that having a large assortment of products/services can sometimes hinder your business rather than help, but that's not always the case, either. This depends on whether that versatile provider has allocated ample infrastructure and support to provide those services.

A specialized vendor may employ 12 people company-wide at an X level of service. A versatile vendor may employ 150 company-wide, with 25 people devoted to one specific service, such as VPS. One may or may not be better than than other - this depends on your specific requirements and how well that provider is structured to support your needs.

In both cases, it depends upon how big the company and how quality their work is. Support is a big fact of this industry, so check their response time first.

I think specialization is important. A "do it all" approach is like knowing a little bit about everything and allot about nothing. I don't want to go to a family Doctor if i have cancer, I want a cancer specialist.

My perception is such that if I see a company focusing on VPS service alone, I expect them to provide beyond superior experience (call it faultless or magical) compared to a company that offers a range of products, including a VPS line.

However, in reality it doesn't happen because there are always other factors in play that you do not control (most of the time): network providers, data center operations, software bugs, etc. - all the same issues a larger and a more diverse company can face. Most customers are not aware of those factors, or they would believe any company that would copy content off their DC provider to tell their customers that they "own" all their equipment, etc, etc.

The ONLY competitive difference/advantage that matter is PEOPLE that run the company, and the two factors they stand for: expertise and customer support. Anything else does not separate companies from one another.

Thanks for the activity.

As a person, I may say, I'd prefer specialized solution every time I need any solution at all. Not only in the hosting world.

I agree to everyone of you, about quality may suffer when the wide range of services are offered. It is always seen when large popular branded companies receive bad reviews more often than hosts which are specialized in a narrow activity.

May also suppose, that shared-only hosting companies cannot be called "specialists" because this most likely is the result of being a small reseller and having no proprietary equipment.