What "good" looks like, and what "bad" looks like
VAT invoice with the 20 % line broken out
Invoice issued by a properly registered VAT entity, with VAT number, your VAT number when supplied, sequential numbering and 20 % line clearly visible.
Invoice from a US-based entity in USD with no VAT line, or VAT "included" without the rate or amount shown.
DPA available for signature, signed by a named DPO
DPA appendix to the MSA, ready for your data protection officer to counter-sign, naming our DPO and aligning with ICO model clauses.
DPA mentioned in the TOS but no actual document, or DPA referenced but only available at "enterprise tier".
Sub-processor list maintained and versioned
Public sub-processor list with last-updated date, versioning, and a documented notice mechanism for changes (typically 30 days).
Sub-processor list not maintained, or maintained but not versioned, or with the disclaimer "we may add additional sub-processors at any time".
P1 incident SLA in writing, with credit calculation method
P1 acknowledgement in writing within X minutes, with credit calculated as a percentage of monthly fees per minute of downtime, applied automatically without you having to claim.
Generic "99.9 % uptime" claim with no SLA document, or SLA document where the credit must be claimed within 7 days or it is forfeited.
Support engineers, not first-line scripts
First response from a human who can read a stack trace, understand a DNS record and discuss a query plan — not a script that asks you to clear browser cache.
First response is a templated email asking you to confirm you have tried the obvious things, followed by a 4-hour wait for a real engineer.
Data export at end of contract, no charge
Standard database export formats (pg_dump, mysqldump, mongodump), file tarballs, and configuration manifests delivered within 30 days at no charge.
Data export charged per GB, or only available as an arcane proprietary format, or only available if you renew for another year.
Pricing in GBP with VAT shown, no hidden auto-upgrade
Price quoted in pounds with VAT line. Renewal at the same price unless explicitly negotiated. No automatic upgrade to a higher tier when the cycle approaches.
Price in USD or EUR with GBP "approximate". "Intro pricing" that triples at first renewal. Automatic upgrade when you cross some usage threshold.
UK time zone support hours, plus 24/7 P1 cover
Office hours follow UK working day (typically 8 AM – 7 PM BST), plus a senior on-call rota for P1 incidents 24/7, including bank holidays.
"24/7 support" that is in fact a chatbot, or first-line in a time zone that cannot respond before next morning, or office hours that finish at 5 PM US Pacific.
Ten questions to ask any UK hosting partner
Including us. Honest answers, side by side, will get you to the right decision faster than spending two months on each option.
- Where is data physically held — name the datacenter and the city.
- Who is on the sub-processor list as of today, and how do you notify changes?
- What is the actual response time on a P1 incident — quote a measured median, not a marketing number.
- Can I see a sample VAT invoice for the plan I am considering?
- What happens at end of contract — can I get my data out, in what format, in how long, at what cost?
- If I exceed a published limit (bandwidth, storage, requests), what is the consequence — throttling, overage charges, account suspension, automatic upgrade?
- Can you complete my standard supplier risk template, and how long will it take?
- Do you have a DPA ready for signature, who signs it on your side, and is it aligned with ICO model clauses?
- Show me a real example of an incident report you have published — root cause, contributing factors, remediation, not just a status page entry.
- What is the actual person-to-customer ratio on the on-call rota? (Hint: a healthy ratio for managed hosting is 1:100 or better.)
Here is how we answer every one of those eight criteria
- VAT invoice in GBP with the 20 % line clearly broken out, issued by our EU entity properly registered for VAT (number on every document).
- DPA available at signature, signed by our named DPO, aligned with ICO model clauses for UK GDPR.
- Sub-processor list maintained and versioned, with 30-day notice on changes, opt-out for material additions.
- P1 SLA in writing: acknowledgement under 15 minutes, senior engineer response under 30 minutes, credit calculated automatically in GBP.
- First-response engineers who can discuss query plans, DNS records and stack traces — not scripted first-line support.
- Data export at end of contract: pg_dump, mysqldump, mongodump, file tarballs, configuration manifests delivered within 30 days at no charge.
- Pricing in GBP with VAT line, no intro pricing that triples, no automatic tier upgrades.
- UK office hours support (8 AM – 7 PM BST) plus a 24/7 senior on-call rota for P1 incidents, including bank holidays.
Book a 30-minute conversation. No demo, no slide deck — just answers.
Bring the eight criteria above. Bring the ten questions. We will answer all of them on the call, with the actual numbers, in writing afterwards. If we are not the right fit, we will say so.