Hosting Hosting refers in English to the activity and role of an "organizer" or "host", but in the German-speaking world it is an established short form for the operation of software application or Internet services (eng. "Internet hosting").
A hosting provider offers and operates Internet hosting services and the necessary infrastructure for its customers' offerings on the Internet. The customer offerings or services thus mapped are generally public, but may be restricted to target groups, such as employees, business partners or end customers. The services offered range from very narrowly defined to extensive application systems. For example, this allows the customer to outsource an e-commerce shopping website or e-mail sending/receiving to a service provider without having to operate servers themselves. The range of services, target customers and costs also vary - from self-service and free services to extensive consulting, implementation and high availability.