Written by: Lynn Cadet
Edited by: Lillian Castro
TL; DR: AlpHosting is a Swiss-based hosting provider with all the bells and whistles. Its hosting platform offers users all the essentials and then some, backed by Swiss data privacy laws. AlpHosting is one of the few Swiss-based hosting providers with a Tier 4 data center. It also goes out of its way to secure customer websites with a combination of robust solutions users can’t find anywhere else in the country. We spoke with Florian Blaser, CEO at AlpHosting, about the team’s focus on SMBs, its services, and top-notch security.
The U.S. is often called a melting pot for its mix of cultures and traditions melding into one. As it happens, the phrase “melting pot” became one of the U.S.’s most common monikers thanks to a celebrated Broadway play of the same name by Israel Zangwill in 1904.
“The Melting Pot” described the life of a Russian Jewish refugee who escaped his homeland and found love, acceptance, and belonging in the U.S. It was so well-received that then-President Theodore Roosevelt praised Israel’s work, and the phrase “melting pot” became a central part to the American cultural identity.
However, the U.S. isn’t the only country known for accepting different cultures and people. Switzerland has a long history of political stability and neutrality. Its central location in Europe has made it a hub and haven for people of all backgrounds for decades. The folks at AlpHosting take great pride in this cultural trait and show it in their business model.
“To operate in Switzerland, you must speak all the surrounding languages. So that becomes very helpful in terms of how we support our customers and what we can offer them. We support them via email, chat, or phone support in French, English, German, Spanish, and Italian,” said Philippe Burki, CMO at AlpHosting.
AlpHosting is a web hosting company based in Crissier, Switzerland. Its central location allows it to cater to the needs of various users. Its hosting plans also include all the essentials while also being backed by strict Swiss privacy laws and data protection. Below, we’ll dive deeper into what differentiates AlpHosting from its competitors.
A Melting Pot of Services
Founded in 2002, AlpHosting has always prioritized the small business journey. Being a small business itself, AlpHosting understands the importance of providing the tools business owners need to build an effective digital presence.
AlpHosting offers a variety of hosting services, including Java Hosting and MySQL hosting. It also provides shared, VPS, WordPress, and dedicated server options. This versatility allows users to choose a hosting plan that suits their needs and goals, whether for web development or a business website. Moreover, they can grow their hosting solution along with their business.
“Being a small company in the hosting space allows us to make more tailored decisions about what we offer. For example, in our dedicated server offering, customers can be specific with us about the type of CPUs that they want to use,” said Philippe.
Its database offerings are also unique. Florian told us most competitors only provide MySQL or MariaDB. But AlpHosting also offers PostgreSQL. “We see a lot of customers who choose Postgres because they think it will work better for larger databases. We also have quite a few customers using the geographical extensions of PostgreSQL. Of course, MariaDB is quite popular with WordPress,” said Florian.
Another feature that distinguishes AlpHosting is its data center design. AlpHosting operates from one of the few Tier 4 data centers in Switzerland. The Tier 4 data center’s robust infrastructure guarantees uptime and redundancy. It also has the highest level of sophistication and resilience a data center can have.
“It’s a top-notch data center design. There are maybe only two or three of them in Switzerland right now. So we are proud to have our customers benefit from one of those,” said Philippe.
Prioritizing Security Throughout the Platform
Another element AlpHosting prioritizes is security. Not only does it abide by the Swiss data privacy laws, but it has also implemented its own security measures, starting with SSL certificates. SSL encryption is crucial in securing the connection between a website and a browser. It is also important for Google ranking.
“If you do not have a valid SSL certificate, users will be notified that your website is not secure. So for our customers, it is essential. We offer free certificates with all our hosting packages with Let’s Encrypt,” said Philippe.
AlpHosting also offers paid SSL certificates, which include insurance in case of a hacking attempt on the SSL encryption. Florian told us that AlpHosting does much more in the security department than many competitors. He said the team receives many migrating customers with broken sites who need their help to fix and secure them.
“We try to ensure websites are safe, even if the customer is not doing the updates. For this, we use three different security solutions with different vendors. These solutions act as different security layers,” said Philippe.
AlpHosting has a Web Application Firewall (WAF), website and database malware scanning, and behavior analysis code built into its servers. With these solutions, the AlpHosting team can detect vulnerabilities and threats that other hosts can’t, giving the web hosting company and its customers an upper hand on the competition.
Right-Sized Hosting Packages for Different Needs
Every business has its needs and goals. Some may aim for exponential growth, while others seek a more steady balance. AlpHosting has something for everyone. Its wide range of services allows it to cater to various needs.
“We offer a wide range of solutions, from a single website to dedicated servers, to cater to different needs. I think this is important so that customers can grow with us. But we also don’t want to force our customers into a solution that is too big for them,” said Philippe.
AlpHosting offers users right-sized hosting packages to suit their budget and current agenda. It allows customers to start as small as they see fit and grow over time. This way, they aren’t forced into a large, costly solution with features they don’t need.
Philippe said the advantage of AlpHosting being a small company is its tailored support. The team can learn about customer needs and develop solutions to fit those requirements. As it happens, the team is currently working on two developments.
“Small companies want collaboration and a tool that can allow them to keep in touch with small teams and extend their ecosystem beyond email. We offer email and calendar, but we want to beef up that offering to create that ecosystem for small companies to connect,” said Philippe.
The AlpHosting team also has something for its more technical customers. “We want to offer them a Database-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service. So we are going in this direction, offering higher-level services accessible through a few clicks,” said Philippe.
