Managed Hosting / External Hosting

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Managed Hosting / External Hosting

Kaitlin Fair posted 8 Years Ago

I've checked out the External Hosting Manual and it was very informative, however the recommendations for what to use were inconsistent. The website says to use Kingdom First Solutions, whereas the pdf says to use Managed Ministries. Which is the currently recommended option?

I'm also looking at Setup and Migration versus just hosting then setting up on my own. Basic setup is $1600, then web hosting is at least $75/month. There seems to be a lot of info on Rock RMS's website regarding setup. Can you explain the benefit of paying for Kingdom First Solutions Setup versus setting up on my own? We are starting from scratch. I also have programming knowledge.

David Leigh · Answer 1 · 2016-04-11T12:29-07:00

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David Leigh replied 8 Years Ago

Hi Kaitlin,

I'm not sure that either KFS or MM are "preferred" over one another - both of them are available to provide hosting, data conversion and customisation services, but I have no experience with either of them, so I can't make a recommendation there.

With regard to whether these consulting services provide value for money, that really depends on how comfortable you are setting up Rock on your own.
For churches that have very little access to technical resources or have complex migrations of existing data, these services are very useful to get them up and running.
However, if you feel comfortable following the documentation and setting up Rock yourself, I would suggest trying that first - you can always call in the consultants if things go wrong!

I can tell you from personal experience that setting up Rock for internal hosting is not difficult if you are comfortable with IIS and SQL Server - the documentation is quite comprehensive. I haven't tried setting up external hosting, but I imagine similar rules apply.

If you have any problems with your installation, just post further questions in this forum and I'm sure somebody will try to help you out.

Edit Answer

Hi Kaitlin,

I'm not sure that either KFS or MM are "preferred" over one another - both of them are available to provide hosting, data conversion and customisation services, but I have no experience with either of them, so I can't make a recommendation there.

With regard to whether these consulting services provide value for money, that really depends on how comfortable you are setting up Rock on your own. 
For churches that have very little access to technical resources or have complex migrations of existing data, these services are very useful to get them up and running. 
However, if you feel comfortable following the documentation and setting up Rock yourself, I would suggest trying that first - you can always call in the consultants if things go wrong!

I can tell you from personal experience that setting up Rock for internal hosting is not difficult if you are comfortable with IIS and SQL Server - the documentation is quite comprehensive. I haven't tried setting up external hosting, but I imagine similar rules apply.

If you have any problems with your installation, just post further questions in this forum and I'm sure somebody will try to help you out.

<p><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">Hi Kaitlin,</span></p>

<p><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">I'm not sure that either KFS or MM are "preferred" over one another - both of them are available to provide hosting, data conversion and customisation services, but I have no experience with either of them, so I can't make a recommendation there.</span></p>

<p><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">With regard to whether these consulting services provide value for money, that really depends on how comfortable you are setting up Rock on your own.<br />
For churches that have very little access to technical resources or have complex migrations of existing data, these services are very useful to get them up and running.<br />
However, if you feel comfortable following the documentation and setting up Rock yourself, I would suggest trying that first - you can always call in the consultants if things go wrong!</span></p>

<p><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">I can tell you from personal experience that setting up Rock for internal hosting is not difficult if you are comfortable with IIS and SQL Server - the documentation is quite comprehensive. I haven't tried setting up external hosting, but I imagine similar rules apply.</span></p>

<p>If you have any problems with your installation, just post further questions in this forum and I'm sure somebody will try to help you out.</p>

<p><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">Hi Kaitlin,</span></p>

<p><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">I'm not sure that either KFS or MM are "preferred" over one another - both of them are available to provide hosting, data conversion and customisation services, but I have no experience with either of them, so I can't make a recommendation there.</span></p>

<p><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">With regard to whether these consulting services provide value for money, that really depends on how comfortable you are setting up Rock on your own.<br />
For churches that have very little access to technical resources or have complex migrations of existing data, these services are very useful to get them up and running.<br />
However, if you feel comfortable following the documentation and setting up Rock yourself, I would suggest trying that first - you can always call in the consultants if things go wrong!</span></p>

<p><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">I can tell you from personal experience that setting up Rock for internal hosting is not difficult if you are comfortable with IIS and SQL Server - the documentation is quite comprehensive. I haven't tried setting up external hosting, but I imagine similar rules apply.</span></p>

<p>If you have any problems with your installation, just post further questions in this forum and I'm sure somebody will try to help you out.</p>

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Jeremy Hoff · Answer 2 · 2016-04-11T15:21-07:00

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Jeremy Hoff replied 8 Years Ago

Hi Kaitlin,

Welcome!

To piggyback on David's response: thanks to the fine documentation, setting up RockRMS is easy enough for someone with motivation and interest in information systems and technology. A seasoned tech - especially one who's familiar with the Microsoft software stack - may find installation downright simple. Like any software, however, there is some "warmup".

Whether you setup / host yourself or pay someone else may be a question of time and how quickly you need to "warm up". If you are under the gun to get this done, then... consultants to the rescue! In my world, and time permitting, I tend to give things a whirl myself before I outsource so that I have a deeper understanding of what's going on. I like the "insider's view".

The question comes down to whether you have the time to spare - if so, I would consider it time well spent.

I hope that helps,

Edit Answer

<p>Hi Kaitlin,</p>

<p>Welcome!</p>

<p>To piggyback on David's response: &nbsp;thanks to the fine documentation, setting up RockRMS is easy enough for someone with motivation and interest in information systems and technology. &nbsp;A seasoned tech - especially one who's familiar with the Microsoft software stack - may find installation downright simple. &nbsp;Like any software, however, there is some "warmup".</p>

<p>Whether you setup / host yourself or pay someone else may be a question of time and how quickly you need to "warm up". &nbsp;If you are under the gun to get this done, then... <em>consultants to the rescue!</em> &nbsp;In my world, and time permitting, I tend to give things a whirl myself before I outsource so that I have a deeper understanding of what's going on. &nbsp;I like the "insider's view". &nbsp;</p>

<p>The question comes down to whether you have the time to spare - if so, I would consider it time well spent. &nbsp;</p>

<p>I hope that helps,</p>

<p>Hi Kaitlin,</p>

<p>Welcome!</p>

<p>To piggyback on David's response: &nbsp;thanks to the fine documentation, setting up RockRMS is easy enough for someone with motivation and interest in information systems and technology. &nbsp;A seasoned tech - especially one who's familiar with the Microsoft software stack - may find installation downright simple. &nbsp;Like any software, however, there is some "warmup".</p>

<p>Whether you setup / host yourself or pay someone else may be a question of time and how quickly you need to "warm up". &nbsp;If you are under the gun to get this done, then... <em>consultants to the rescue!</em> &nbsp;In my world, and time permitting, I tend to give things a whirl myself before I outsource so that I have a deeper understanding of what's going on. &nbsp;I like the "insider's view". &nbsp;</p>

<p>The question comes down to whether you have the time to spare - if so, I would consider it time well spent. &nbsp;</p>

<p>I hope that helps,</p>

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Guy Maness · Answer 3 · 2016-04-11T15:45-07:00

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Guy Maness replied 8 Years Ago

Hi Kaitlin! Welcome to the Rock family :) Let me start right off the bat saying that my opinion is biased, as I work for Kingdom First Solutions (KFS). That being said, I will try my best to give you some objective information with out any slant.

As David mentioned, Rock's documentation is very thorough. Between the Rock documentation and this community, most anyone comfortable in some basic SQL setup and web hosting should be able to handle it. Companies like KFS are around to provide services for those churches that either don't have the expertise in-house, or would rather just pay someone else to just "make it work". In the manuals and on the Rock website, you will see an ever growing list of partners with RockRMS. These are companies or organizations that have come into the Rock community and dedicated themselves to offering quality services to Rock churches. The Rock team (Spark Development Network) works to inform you of these partners that are available to help you. I would hazard to guess that the discrepancy between suggesting different partners in different areas is just a circumstance of the growing partner list.

Now, I can also answer your KFS specific questions. The main benefit of using us for installation is that you get to let us do all the work. We walk through every step for a full install, including domain registration (if needed), SSL certs, basic website setup and training. Our setup package is not just to install Rock for you, but a complete standup of your Rock environment and website, as well as walking you through all the little "gotchas" that come up (like SMTP email config, SmartyStreets account, Twilio account/config, ...)

We truly are here to help. If you would like to chat with us a little more, you can email me at guym@kingdomfirstsolutions.com. The last thing we want to do is try to sell you something you don't want or need. That doesn't help build the Kingdom. We would be happy to explain more and help you determine the best path for your church, whether it is using our services or not.

Guy

Edit Answer

Hi Kaitlin! Welcome to the Rock family :) Let me start right off the bat saying that my opinion is biased, as I work for Kingdom First Solutions (KFS). That being said, I will try my best to give you some objective information with out any slant.&nbsp; 
 
As David mentioned, Rock's documentation is very thorough. Between the Rock documentation and this community, most anyone comfortable in some basic SQL setup and web hosting should be able to handle it.&nbsp;Companies like KFS are around to provide services for those churches that either don't have the expertise in-house, or would rather just pay someone else to just "make it work". In the manuals and on the Rock website, you will see an ever growing list of partners with RockRMS. These are companies or organizations that have come into the Rock community and dedicated themselves to offering quality services to Rock churches. The Rock team (Spark Development Network) works to inform you of these partners that are available to help you. I would hazard to guess that the discrepancy between suggesting different partners in different areas is just a circumstance of the growing partner list.

Now, I can also answer your KFS specific questions. The main benefit of using us for installation is that you get to let us do all the work. We walk through every step for a full install, including domain registration (if needed), SSL certs, basic website setup and training. Our setup package is not just to install Rock for you, but a complete standup of your Rock environment and website, as well as walking you through all the little "gotchas" that come up (like SMTP email config, SmartyStreets account, Twilio account/config, ...)

We truly are here to help. If you would like to chat with us a little more, you can email me at guym@kingdomfirstsolutions.com. The last thing we want to do is try to sell you something you don't want or need. That doesn't help build the Kingdom. We would be happy to explain more and help you determine the best path for your church, whether it is using our services or not.

Guy

<p>Hi Kaitlin! Welcome to the Rock family :) Let me start right off the bat saying that my opinion is biased, as I work for Kingdom First Solutions (KFS). That being said, I will try my best to give you some objective information with out any slant.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
As David mentioned, Rock's documentation is very thorough. Between the Rock documentation and this community, most anyone comfortable in some basic SQL setup and web hosting should be able to handle it.&nbsp;Companies like KFS are around to provide services for those churches that either don't have the expertise in-house, or would rather just pay someone else to just "make it work". In the manuals and on the Rock website, you will see an ever growing list of partners with RockRMS. These are companies or organizations that have come into the Rock community and dedicated themselves to offering quality services to Rock churches. The Rock team (Spark Development Network) works to inform you of these partners that are available to help you. I would hazard to guess that the discrepancy between suggesting different partners in different areas is just a circumstance of the growing partner list.</p>

<p>Now, I can also answer your KFS specific questions. The main benefit of using us for installation is that you get to let us do all the work. We walk through every step for a full install, including domain registration (if needed), SSL certs, basic website setup and training. Our setup package is not just to install Rock for you, but a complete standup of your Rock environment and website, as well as walking you through all the little "gotchas" that come up (like SMTP email config, SmartyStreets account, Twilio account/config, ...)</p>

<p>We truly are here to help. If you would like to chat with us a little more, you can email me at guym@kingdomfirstsolutions.com. The last thing we want to do is try to sell you something you don't want or need. That doesn't help build the Kingdom. We would be happy to explain more and help you determine the best path for your church, whether it is using our services or not.</p>

<p>Guy</p>

<p>Hi Kaitlin! Welcome to the Rock family :) Let me start right off the bat saying that my opinion is biased, as I work for Kingdom First Solutions (KFS). That being said, I will try my best to give you some objective information with out any slant.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
As David mentioned, Rock's documentation is very thorough. Between the Rock documentation and this community, most anyone comfortable in some basic SQL setup and web hosting should be able to handle it.&nbsp;Companies like KFS are around to provide services for those churches that either don't have the expertise in-house, or would rather just pay someone else to just "make it work". In the manuals and on the Rock website, you will see an ever growing list of partners with RockRMS. These are companies or organizations that have come into the Rock community and dedicated themselves to offering quality services to Rock churches. The Rock team (Spark Development Network) works to inform you of these partners that are available to help you. I would hazard to guess that the discrepancy between suggesting different partners in different areas is just a circumstance of the growing partner list.</p>

<p>Now, I can also answer your KFS specific questions. The main benefit of using us for installation is that you get to let us do all the work. We walk through every step for a full install, including domain registration (if needed), SSL certs, basic website setup and training. Our setup package is not just to install Rock for you, but a complete standup of your Rock environment and website, as well as walking you through all the little "gotchas" that come up (like SMTP email config, SmartyStreets account, Twilio account/config, ...)</p>

<p>We truly are here to help. If you would like to chat with us a little more, you can email me at guym@kingdomfirstsolutions.com. The last thing we want to do is try to sell you something you don't want or need. That doesn't help build the Kingdom. We would be happy to explain more and help you determine the best path for your church, whether it is using our services or not.</p>

<p>Guy</p>

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Don Smallman

8 years ago

Hi Kaitlin! In case you choose to get some help. I have worked with Trey at Kingdom First Solutions, and he is very knowledgeable and helpful. I agree with Guy, when he says that they are there to truly help and not just sell you something and walk away. Good luck and post back to let us know how your setup & migration went.

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