Just over 7 years ago, we made the decision to host the Firmwater LMS solution at [OrcsWeb.com](http://www.orcsweb.com/). It turned out to be one of the best business decisions we made, both for us and our customers.
Here are 7 of the many reasons why we chose and continue to choose OrcsWeb:
1. Solid Infrastructure
2. Microsoft Technology Specialization
3. Dedicated and Stable Support Team
4. High Availability
5. Full-Service Solution
6. Scalability and Flexibility
7. Peace of Mind
Solid Infrastructure
A solid infrastructure starts with good bones. OrcsWeb is co-located within [Peak 10’s data center](http://www.orcsweb.com/hosting/data-center/), a world-class hosting facility that includes multiple high-speed connections to Tier 1 Internet carriers, multiple power sources providing uninterruptable power, top-notch environmental control and physical security systems that meet or exceed industry standards.
Microsoft Technology Specialization
ORCS Web-only hosts applications built upon Microsoft’s technology stack.
The Firmwater LMS is a Microsoft .NET application built on the Microsoft technology stack (Windows Server, Internet Information Server, SQL Server and Reporting Services).
By hosting with a Microsoft specialist, we benefit from ORCS Web’s broader knowledge of Microsoft technologies. We’ve been able to leverage ORCS Web’s knowledge and expertise to move quicker than if we had to do it all on our own.
Dedicated and Stable Support Team
OrcsWeb provides Firmwater with a dedicated support team which means they have familiarity with our application and are able to help us solve problems efficiently. A stable staff is one of the hallmarks of a great organization, and most members of our OrcsWeb support team have been on the team since day one.
High Availability
The Firmwater LMS is hosted on a combination of OrcsWeb Cloud Servers and dedicated servers. All servers are built using Enterprise-Class hardware with Gigabit speed network connections and built-in redundancy. Managed daily backups, managed anti-virus and firewall protection secure our servers from malicious attempts to access information maintaining the security of our customers’ data.
As a result, in a typical month, we see 99.98% to 100% availability. Unplanned downtime is rare. Planned downtime is limited to that which is needed to apply operating system and application updates.
Full-Service Solution
The OrcsWeb team takes complete care of our hosting environment from backups through to applying the latest Microsoft updates. We regularly call upon the team to help us with day to day administration. Requests are handled promptly, usually within minutes. OrcsWeb’s support team allows Firmwater to focus on our efforts on supporting our customers and continuing development of the Firmwater LMS application.
Scalability and Flexibility
When the need for more resources arises, OrcsWeb has been able to deploy additional resources to our servers quickly. When the situation dictates, we’ve been able to add resources within hours.
Peace of Mind
At the end of the day, we have the peace of mind in knowing that OrcsWeb is watching our back. They monitor our servers around the clock every day of the year. Day or night, they will take action on our behalf when needed and keep us apprised of actions taken.
What does this mean to our customers? Simply that the Firmwater LMS is always available and running reliably around the clock.