The capital required to start your own dedicated server hosting company is excessive to say the least. You need to source a stock of reliable hardware, locate a suitable data centre to deploy your services from, and offer up support and supplementary services in line with the enterprise-class providers that you compete with. Naturally, this isn’t impossible, and there are many dedicated server providers out there who started from humble beginnings (Netwise Hosting included); however not everyone has access to the kinds of financial and technical backing to make it a reality. And starting your own private data centre – well that’s a different kettle of fish altogether.

Yet you can get into the industry with relative ease provided you are willing to put in the hard work and can confidently build a brand upon which people can know and trust. Reselling the services of top hosting providers around the globe under your own brand is a fantastic way to learn the industry and begin making serious money to boot. This sort of 100% outsourcing business model is utilised in many industries, and many of the top hosted service resellers are now very large and powerful brands.

There are two primary methods of service resale, and it is important to understand your own objectives before committing to one or the other.

Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs are the simplest form of dedicated server reselling. How the programs work can vary between hosting providers, however most follow a similar system to that employed here at Netwise Hosting. Affiliates are provided with a unique link to the providers website, which the affiliate uses to point potential customers to the services on offer. The system then tracks the potential customers activity on the site over a long period of time; if the customer goes on to make a purchase, the affiliate takes a commission on the sale for his/her successfull referal. How the affiliate in question uses their link is up to them. It can be used as a link for banner adverts which they can distribute online, or given to friends as a form of service recommendation.

Here at Netwise Hosting, affiliates are paid 15% commission on the refered sale of server packages. Our most successful affiliates earn many hundreds of pounds a month, and can operate their program around other jobs and commitments. If you are looking for some extra cash each month, and have good sales ability (particularly online referal sales), then an affiliates program is the perfect resale option for you. Its free and easy to use, meaning you need very little in the way of technical knowhow, as end customers deal directly with the host after the sale.

Reseller Programs

Reseller programs are for those operating professional reselling businesses. Services are sold under the resellers own brand. They then purchase the dedicated servers and related services from the hosting provider at a discounted rate, and take margins on top. One major difference here is that the reseller deals with the customer from start to finish, providing support and related service information themselves. The end customer does not know of the hosting provider at the top level, just the reseller they are dealing with. The discounted rates from the original service provider often rely on official agreements in place that require a certain number of orders per month from the reseller.

Reseller programs are professional relationships and as such are drawn up for individual cases. If you are interested in reselling for a service provider in this way, you will need to contact the host and discuss your own unique terms etc. Proposals are then drafted, and when both parties are happy the relationship can begin. Netwise Hosting have a fantastic network of resellers who sell our products under their own brand and buy from us at impressive discounted rates. Contact us today if you would like to become an official reseller.

For a summary of Netwise Hosting’s affiliate and reseller programs, visit the Reseller information page here. We would love to work with you in the future!

It should also be noted that reselling is not limited to dedicated servers. Colocation services can be sold in much the same way, however the process is far more complex and the building-up of experience in the dedicated server market is recommended before making the leap to colocation.