Yesterday was an exciting day for Rochen. We finally launched our UK hosting services. You can find details in my previous blog that I wrote prior to the launch. I wanted to use this blog post to address some questions we have been getting as well as provide some discount promo codes. Everyone loves pictures, so I have included some of those too.
1. Can I expect the same level of service with Rochen’s UK hosting?
Yes, our UK service is pretty much a direct copy of our US offering. We have applied everything we have learnt in the US and used all of our best practices. Services like Rochen Vault Managed Backups are included free with the UK plans. Whether you are on a US or UK plan you can seamless login to Rochen Vault via: https://vault.rochen.com, for example. Technical support is all in one place too at: https://my.rochen.com.
2. What services does Rochen offer in the UK?
All of our shared hosting plans including the Starter Plan, Multiple Domain Hosting and Reseller Hosting are available in the UK. Our Managed Virtual Server (MVS) service is available too. The plans are identical to the US offering except we charge in GBP instead of USD. Simply select the US or UK option prior to ordering on the plan page.
3. In the UK does Rochen own and manage all of the hosting infrastructure?
We own and manage everything. Rochen could have probably saved quite a bit if we had started out the UK service with lower capital investments by leasing servers. However, we were not about to start compromising our service standards, so if we were to offer a UK service it had to stand up to its US sister. All the infrastructure in the UK from the enterprise Supermicro rackmount services, to the Cisco switches and backup appliances are all fully owned and managed by Rochen.
4. Is the US or UK service best for me?
It really depends where the bulk of your site traffic originates from. Configuring Google Analytics on your site should be able to tell you. If the bulk of your traffic comes from within Europe or Africa then the UK service is best. If most of your traffic is coming from North America, South America or areas like Australia then the US service is probably best. Some European companies also need to host their data inside of the EU for data protection reasons, so the UK service would meet that requirement. If you host sites with traffic from different regions then splitting your hosting between both Rochen locations might be a smart move. E.g. a Reseller Hosting Plan in the US and another in the UK.
5. I wish to change from the US to UK service. Is this possible?
This is not currently possible. The reasons behind not allowing transfers are purely business ones right now. We could end up with lots of people moving over and filling up the UK infrastructure. This would mean Rochen has huge additional capital and recurring outlays without any additional revenue. We will however allow transfers in the future. If you are upgrading though we can however offer a transfer. E.g. Reseller Hosting in the US to Managed Virtual Server (MVS) in the UK.
6. I wish to open a UK account in addition to my US account. Is this possible?
Yes, this is certainly possible. You can simply order a UK plan via our website. When ordering though please be sure to provide a different email address to the one you currently have on file with Rochen. This is to ensure your UK order is placed under a separate My Rochen customer portal login to your existing US account. Currently our customer portal can not support US and UK accounts under the one login.
7. I am not currently a customer. What’s the best way to signup for Rochen UK?
Simply visit our website at: http://www.rochen.co.uk, find the plan that best meets your needs and signup. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to email [email protected], post within our pre-sales questions forum or Twitter us @rochenhost.
8. Are there any discounts for non-customers?
Yes, you can signup using the promo code UK20 (expires Sunday, 21st June) to receive a 20% discount on your first invoice or UK15 (expires Tuesday, 30th June) to receive a 15% discount on your first invoice. These discounts apply to the UK service only as part of our launch celebrations. You can use the promo code DEAL for a 10% discount on your first invoice with the US service though. If you pay annually for a Starter Plan or Multiple Domain Hosting Plan then the savings can be significant.
Thanks for taking the time to read and do get in touch if you have any questions at all about either our new UK offering or any Rochen service!
– Chris
Chris Adams is the Founder and CEO of Rochen, a web hosting provider specializing in providing a performance tuned hosting platform for dynamic database driven scripts.