Time4VPS Helps Emerging Business Leaders With Safe and Professional VPS Solutions

TL; DR: Public demand for virtual private servers increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Time4VPS, a part of Miss Group, attracted many of those business owners through its commitment to customer support and a thoughtful approach to updates and product rollouts. Time4VPS offers Linux- and Windows-based VPS solutions and many other products, including VPN, SSL, and BitNinja services. The company is also offering steep discounts to new clients so more entrepreneurs see the value of VPS over shared hosting.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected companies of every size and industry worldwide. And hosting providers certainly weren’t spared. But unlike many companies that saw pandemic hardship, the push toward remote workforces and solopreneur ventures generally worked to the hosting industry’s advantage.

Time4VPS, a Lithuania-based hosting provider, was well-positioned to serve the needs of those businesses and entrepreneurs.

“The pandemic here was a big deal for the hosting industry,” said Valentine Cirba, Project Manager at Time4VPS. “Many small businesses went online. So we had to be quick with marketing to get those new clients and offer them superior service.”

Time4VPS, as the company’s name implies, deals primarily with virtual private servers. The company offers options for Linux- and Windows-based VPS solutions as well as container and storage VPS options. It provides SSL certificates and BitNinja licenses in addition to supporting resellers.

The company launched in 2003 and has seen steady growth since.

“One of the biggest changes for us came last year when we were bought by Miss Group,” Valentine said. “It’s a Swedish-based hosting company with nearly two dozen brands. Within the group, we can offer our customers additional value through different services, which were out of our reach when we were small. Now, you can get better prices for everything when you’re buying in bulk.”

Those new products sit atop an already robust portfolio of offerings and services that leverage technology devoted to better information protection, system stability, and fewer adverse security and uptime challenges.

Time4VPS serves budget-minded VPS customers, but not all VPS solution providers are as deliberate as Time4VPS about information security and core system stability. Many budget providers are either too slow to apply essential patches or too fast to deploy the latest software versions without completing in-house compatibility testing.

“We have a lot of experience. For example, we’re currently looking for a solution for advancing storage in VPSs to bring them up to speed with current technology faster,” Valentine said. “We are looking over a couple of solutions because we don’t want to deliver our customers something not completely done.”

Time4VPS minimizes the risk to customer data that could arise from out-of-date security tools or vulnerabilities in bleeding-edge software versions by being deliberate and using only well-tested solutions. Not only does that caution make sense for customers, but it’s part-and-parcel of the culture of European privacy regulation.

“We’re based in Europe,” Valentine said. “But also we have customers all around the world who need a location in Europe. Because of our strategic location and our prices, it’s a good option to have something available — if you need server growth, you can get it from us.”

It’s not an accident that Time4VPS prioritizes server security tools in addition to its base VPS offerings. The company delivers a high-encryption VPS app that uses open-source standards, several classes of SSL certificates, advanced filtering with SpamExperts mailbox protection, and server-based BitNinja full-stack protection.

The hosting market is so crowded that many providers eager to win market share differentiate on attributes including price, niche services, or customer support. Time4VPS delivers low-cost hosting — a market segment notorious for poor service — but the company prides itself on its commitment to customer support.

“There are a lot of VPS providers out there,” Valentine said. “To stand out, you have to have something special. One thing we have is customer support. This role is occupied by several junior administrators who can help you understand and point you in the right direction. We offer unmanaged services, but we have junior administrators waiting for your questions. We believe that this is a net benefit for our customers.”

The best service is often the ticket not filed. Time4VPS uses standard software solutions that even non-tech-savvy customers can use without significant external support. Tools including cPanel and Plesk, which are well-respected in the industry, also minimize the learning curve for those migrating from other providers.

“We offer templates that are easy to manage and servers with cPanel and Plesk,” he said. “We recently launched a partnership with the Plesk panel, which also offers an intuitive interface to manage those websites and emails. We’re also looking for other solutions to attract those who don’t know how to run a server, but with some tools or control panels, would be able to do so — quite professionally and safely.”

In addition to the junior administrators and its simple set-up, Time4VPS offers a rich online knowledge base to support easy reference. It also has a robust community forum to connect users to answer questions and share best practices.

Time4VPS was prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic because its business operations favored flexibility and proven solutions. The company’s reseller support helped entrepreneurs that launched during the pandemic, while the mix of Linux- and Windows-based VPS frameworks helped people regardless of their platform needs. And the company’s location helped businesses get a foothold in Europe and enjoy strong privacy regulations.

Although many budget-conscious hosting providers skimp on customer support, Time4VPS dedicates some administrators to help customers solve more complicated issues. That approach works hand in hand with self-service tools and a community forum to help customers no matter what problem-solving approach they prefer.

Time4VPS now focuses on helping retain customers past their initial sign-up. The solution that worked during the pandemic included a 50% discount on the first month’s server fees so customers exploring several providers would find the combination of price, products, and support at Time4VPS worth the long-term investment.

“The first thing we did was cut our prices in half for the first period,” Valentine said. “Getting new client orders right allows us to attract new customers to try our services. That arrangement was allowed by Miss Group, to let us have a little loss in the short term but to gain relationships and profits in the long run.”

Time4VPS is a VPS-focused provider with an excellent support model, a long history of success, and a new partnership with a larger hosting group that enhances its commitment to customers. That makes it an excellent choice for entrepreneurs eager to take a step above a shared-hosting account for their company or passion project.