Overview: DigitalOcean’s tag line on their website is ‘Cloud computing designed for developers’ and that is exactly who will love this platform. Simple, sleek, and flexible DigitalOcean gives developers what they need.
Pricing:
Cloud LV1: $5/mo for cloud hosting
Cloud LV3: $20/mo for cloud hosting
Cloud LV5: $80/mo for cloud hosting
Ideal Customer: Any developer or agency looking for robust cloud hosting with a simple scalable pricing structure.
Trends:
Unique Features:
Teams: Often times in agency development there are several tools in your stack to managing teams, environments and projects. In an effort to simplify the structure of your large projects, DigitalOcean has an integrated feature called “Teams”. Developed to assist and orchestrate even the most complex developing setups in a manageable way. There is one login to manage and each team member can access up to 10 teams (a useful feature for the staff who can float in different and specific roles). Inviting members to projects is simple and they can only be a part of the given project(s). Security is also a heavy consideration in Teams with owners being able to see which team members are using “two factor authentication” which will help make sure the environment is secure. Invoicing and billing is also included, but not all team members need access to the financials. These parameters are easily set up to ensure that only those who need access to invoicing are allowed to see it. While some enterprise clients do enlist a self-produced (or third party) team management system, “Teams” has garnered the attention of several heavy-hitters including: Salesforce, hp, and Zendesk to name a few.
Droplets: If you have ever wished you could just start a new project in a new environment without a lot of hassle, Droplets could be a solution. DigitalOcean has created an easy-to-deploy resizable cloud server that can be set up in “55 seconds”. It’s a simple process with only three steps. First, you’ll select and image or app from the library available (or your can create the Droplet from a snapshot). Next, you’ll choose the initial size based on the resources you’ll need from the onset (resizable any time from the control panel). Finally, it’s time to select a region. DigitalOcean has several data centers around the world and each Droplet can be placed in the one closest to where your target audience will be. This feature allows you to reduce page speeds and other factors when users access your files. In addition to the simplicity of setup, you’ll have access to several additional features. Cluster deployment will allow you to create multiple environments; a perfect option for larger developers with multiple ongoing projects. Backups are available and aren’t unique to this host, but snapshots are. Any time you want to save the data in an app you can take a “snapshot”. To take it one step further, you can transfer ownership of those “snapshots” to other DigitalOcean users (great for agencies). Everything about your Droplet is monitored for peak performance right from your control panel and the hardware that holds files is top notch for speed and reliability.
Community: One of the hardest parts about hosting for developers isn’t understanding complex lingo, but the time it takes to understand and implement all of the features available to them. While, they understand the language of coding and what goes in to keeping files on the web, they may not know that certain configurations will make their site faster, resources more fluid, and so on. DigitalOcean takes education seriously. In fact, they have almost 1400 tutorials on their site. These in-depth guides help users get the most from their hosting. In order to stream a constant supply of these tutorials, they pay experts to come and write them. There is also a healthy amount of updates from around the web that keep you in the know. A projects page to alert users to all integrations and apps for your account is also available in the community. Seeing the extra tools that you can implement is a huge leg up and keeps you from having to search for the newest digital tools. The question section has nearly 14,000 questions that have been answered by the pros within the same community, and you can feel free to ask yours as a user. Finally, there are meetups (we told you they were serious about community). Over 6000 people have gathered in around a dozen countries to geek out over their hosting with DigitalOcean.
Pros:
- Flexibility: Not only does DigitalOcean have an extremely scalable pricing structure but you can also choose to be billed on a monthly or hourly basis.
- Backups: Backups done are automatically on a schedule. Individuals can take snapshots at anytime to save, restore, or duplicate your droplets.
- Uptime guarantee: A 99.99% uptime guarantee is offered by DigitalOcean with a promise of compensation beyond that although there is no specific detail on their website about the level of compensation.
- Easy Cancellation: DigitalOcean makes it easy for you to cancel your service. You can cancel your account anytime through the control panel.
Cons:
- One trick pony: DigitalOcean does not provide any managed, shared, or dedicated hosting plans.
- Limited support: They only have a ticket system for issues. No live chat or phone support is offered.
- Not for beginners: DigitalOcean makes it very clear that their services are solely marketed to developers and others with extensive web knowledge.
Summary:
DigitalOcean is a virtual playground for developers and experienced webmasters looking to build something truly unique and specialized. Their open API and configurable servers make this the place for those that love to have full control. With multiple and flexible pricing options DigitalOcean offers customers the freedom to experiment and grow.
Takeaway: Individual developers and large businesses alike will love DigitalOceans Cloud Hosting and Droplet format. Catered to those who know what they are doing, this hosting provider is lacking in customer service and tries to foster a community of self-sufficiency. Those who need simple shared or managed hosting will need to look elsewhere.
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