Consistent accessibility is the one of the most important features of having a successful website. When a site is down due to server problems, it can weaken a business.

This is why more and more companies are turning to dedicated servers as a better way to host their sites. Who wants to share when you can have your own?

Traditional virtual servers host several clients at a time. Any service interruption for one client, due to system failure, maintenance, web site data or programming, affect all other customers on that server. Servers can be taken offline to deal with a single customer, taking the other companies' sites down in the process.

Dedicated servers provide web server hardware for one individual client. Only your data is on the server and you don't share memory or bandwidth with anyone else. Your site doesn't go down when somebody else needs to go offline temporarily.

Having a dedicated server gives you freedom from responsibility of hardware and connectivity problems, while having accessible control to the maintenance of your server through a control panel. There are no restrictions. If you want to add a software package or install a script, then you can simply do that from wherever you are.

When a site starts to generate more traffic and provides more services, a dedicated server can be of great benefit to maintain this growth. More customized components are required as web sites look better and get fancier. A dedicated server gives the client control over the many tools its site is comprised of. The ability for clients to customize their own servers is a service that dedicated server providers are recognizing as being productive to the client.

One company that's realized this is NetNation Communications Inc., a world leading web hosting and E-Commerce-solutions company.

"Dedicated servers allow you to install custom software and get the fastest response time since you don't share server resources," says Joseph Kibur, Chief Operating Officer of NetNation. "This is ideal for organizations that are content-rich or process lots of e-commerce transactions. Our dedicated server clientele benefit from having a customizable solution that is tailored to their needs with 24 hour, 365 day a year monitoring and support in NetNation's Network Operation Center."

Rackspace.com is another dedicated server provider that takes pride in its clients being able to customize their dedicated servers in real-time right over the Internet. It recognizes the value added to its clients' businesses by providing a fast and effective way of accessing their server. This way, the client can meet their specific needs the way they want.

E-commerce is another evolving trend where dedicated servers can be of utmost benefit to a company.

Market research conducted by Dataquest, part of GartnerGroup, projected holiday spending worldwide to reach US$12.2 billion.

E-commerce companies are recognizing the need for round-the-clock accessibility to their sites, and of course, tight security.

"Security is the number one issue," says Patrick Condon, vice president of Rackspace.com. It is very easy to defeat security on a shared server. Transaction information, order and client lists can easily be compromised."

Another aspect of dedicated server hosting is that it can be a great money saver for start up web development companies. Instead of shelling out $3,000-$4,000 to buy your own server hardware, you can turn to a dedicated server provider and pay a monthly fee to use theirs.

This service can cost anywhere between $100-$1,500 per month, depending on what services are offered and your own customizable choices.

There are many sites on the web right now where you can search for the kind of dedicated server provider you want. www.webserverlist.com provides a global search that includes the services you need. www.webhostdir.com offers specialized searches that include method of payment, the maximum price you want to pay per month and the platform you use. www.ispcheck.com includes a shopping guide with a list of dedicated server companies.