This IDC study looks at disruptive economics tied to virtualization and utility computing that will force intense competition across Web hosting market segments as more real-time granular service models emerge to support lower costs per unit for processor and storage capacity.

According to Rona Shuchat, research director, Web Hosting Services at IDC, "The focus will continue to shift to rightsizing a customer's application to the assets needed based on actual usage and time of use, with a parallel focus on improving performance, reliability, and scalability."