Advantages of a hosted ad server (part 2)
                     Advantages of a hosted ad server (part 2)
John Z
Writes on Ad serving, involved with ad servers solutions 
and ad server platform.
In our previous article, we discussed the time saving and performance advantages 
of a hosted ad server. In this article, we will continue to talk about other benefits 
you can enjoy when choosing a good ad serving solution.
Cost saving
You might think that you pay a one-time fee to download an ad serving software 
and then you can use it forever. However, the reality is not simple like that. 
Software does not stay the same. It evolves over time, often very quickly. After 
downloading and installing the software, you will need to frequently update it to fix 
bugs, patch vulnerabilities and get new features. You or your tech team will need to 
download and test each update, solve any compatibility issues. Minor software 
updates might be free but a major update or upgrade might cost you some 
additional fees or a whole new purchase. The total cost of ownership for a self-
hosted ad server might add up quickly and yet not fully visible to a new user initially.
With a hosted ad server, these software updates are almost always behind 
the scenes and it is done by a team of experts who are very familiar with its 
code and functionality. It’s done without you having to do anything. You 
get new features and a more secure system by simply staying subscribed to 
a suitable plan. The ad serving cost is often based on the number of ad 
impressions, which is easy to understand, calculate and budget for. This 
cost structure is flexible because you can upgrade to a big plan during busy 
months and downgrade to a smaller plan during off-peak seasons. You can 
start small and then upgrade to a bigger plan as your business grows. The 
more you use, the better pricing you can get from the ad server vendor. 
There are also discounts for prepayments or annual subscriptions. After 
establishing a good relationship with the ad server company, you can even 
get special discounts for being their loyal customers.
Flexible customizations
Many ad servers offer a white label solution, which means even if you 
don’t own the ad server or spend any money to develop it, you can still 
make it look like a part of your own system. You can customize the look 
and feel of the interface. You can enable or disable certain functionality 
to fit your own setup, workflows or processes. Many ad servers offer 
different more advanced features via add-ons or modules that you can 
subscribe to add functionality depending on your specific needs. Some 
publishers and advertisers just have a simple ad setup while others want 
a detailed level of ad targeting and reporting with different breakdowns 
and filters. Ad network operators might want their ad server solution to 
have specific features for ad networks so they can manage their own 
publishers and advertisers more effectively. 
If you need more control or a more advanced integration, you can use 
the provided API (Application Programming Interface) and write your 
own code or script to do many tasks, including ad creation, reporting, or 
trafficking. The ad server's API opens a whole new world because you 
can fully control how things work. You can use the ad server at the core 
layer and as building blocks to build a more advanced and customized 
setup. This flexibility is especially useful when you just get started and 
do not want to be tied up to any big commitment.
About Adspeed
AdSpeed ad server is a reliable & powerful ad serving and ad 
management solution that serves your ads, tracks impressions & clicks 
and reports ad statistics in real-time. Driven by the latest ad serving 
technologies, the goal of Adspeed adserver is to provide a reliable 
platform that can help in executing online advertising strategy more 
efficiently. 
Thank you for spending your precious time in reading this article.