I am reproducing this content with permission from a Chilkat customer. Thank you Max!
(Note: The prices mentioned in this post will surely become inaccurate before too long…)
I just wanted to write you both, to tell you I am now using both of your tools to synchronize a client web app at DiscountASP.net (California) with a backup app at Forte Hosting (Chicago). First, thank you!
I originally had the client app hosting on a dedicated server. But I had a 2-day SQL server nightmare (security issue, what else!) and thought why not leave those worries to someone else. I also needed a backup server. The cheapest dedicated Windows servers are $99 a month (and that’s barrel scraping). So for this clients needs I’m looking at $2,400 a year, minimum. But the problem I have with DiscountASP.net is they get attacked by extortionists, or they just get over-loaded, whatever. But although my app his high availability, it isn’t high enough that I can’t switch between hosting providers, assuming the data and files are synchronized. That’s where you came in.
With Simego’s $50 SQL Admin Studio with NANT scripting support and Chilkat’s FTP2 component (file synchronization) $150 I am able to keep both apps synchronized. DiscountASP.net costs $20 a month (with SQL), ForteHosting is $10 (with SQL, but their service isn’t as easy to manage as DiscountASP.net). Anyway, I’m now looking at $200 + $360 = $560 for the first year rather than $2,400. Of course, my time isn’t cheap so it’s not that cheap for the client. But in the second and third year it will become the more profitable solution. And again, I can leave many headaches to the hosting provider.
My point is that virtualization, in many forms, is the next seismic shift in computing. You both have products that fit into those needs. Using your products I’ve been able to "virtualize" my app from plain-vanilla Windows hosting. I plan on doing a lot more of it.
