Need a partner for hosting our windows / SQL application in Canada...all data and backup on Canadian servers.
Any good (reputable companies only) suggestions?
Price is a factor but it has to be a tier 1 provider needed for financial companies and their data. They may need to be certified per financial industry requirements such as SAS 70 etc.
thanks!
Two sites that have hosted for me with good results are Netfirms and MyHosting, both out of Toronto. I used PHP/mySQL and had my domain email working with both of the sites quite adequately.
The lower cost plans are shared hosting. But if you're like I am and are serious about your hosting, you'll pick a premium plan that costs a bit more but gives better potential handling of traffic once your site does grow.
Update April 2011: Netfirms has just been purchased by a US Company and is moving south. However, I will be sticking with them.
Peer1 is a large Canadian datacenter & network provider; with datacenters on both coasts and both in USA and Canada. The new Stack Overflow server farm is AFAIK hosted in Peer1's New York DC, and Peer1 has hosted Joel on Software for years.
One little thing: last I heard about Peer1 the word was that most of their DCs are occupied at or near capacity, so they're not exactly hungry for new customers. This may or may not be true. It was a while ago that I heard this, and it was anecdotal evidence only.
Edit: I see that Peer1 has a new DC in Toronto, so they ought to be hungry for attracting customers to that DC.
Price is a factor but it has to be a tier 1 provider needed for financial companies and their data. They may need to be certified per financial industry requirements such as SAS 70 etc.Cheap or certified -- pick one.
Lastly, I keep saying that this site isn't really the best forum for ISP and Colo recommendations. Try Web Hosting Talk 's forums, or maybe some of the other Stack Overflow network sites.
rackspace is typically the first stop you should shop and offer a great HAAS solution.
Also, SalesForce is a great place to start and grow your businesses... look into their clout solutions.
personally, in reading your other question, would suggest another rout specializing in tier 1 hosting for a dedicated product that would be your all encompassing web portal... powerDNN and dotnetnuke is ideal for taking you to the next level.
Have you looked into Windows Azure?
Do you have a middle-layer between your Windows layer (I'm assuming it is installed on users workstations) and the SQL database? If so, is it WCF/WebServices based?
Tenzing seems good - high service level (and price). The only major one I've used in Canada is ServerBeach (Peer1).