Resold hosting,and who you actually talk to.
A reseller runs the same open-source pieces we do: Postfix, DNS, a web server. The difference is what happens at 03:00, and who holds the contract.
What you get
The day-to-day is handled. Patching, certificates and the queue are handled by someone else.
A support window exists, and a ticket gets an answer inside it.
Mailboxes are cheap at small numbers, and onboarding is a form.
What it costs
You are usually one of many tenants on shared sending IPs. Reputation is pooled, and one bad neighbour degrades everyone.
The SLA is the reseller's, and the remedy is a credit on next month's invoice.
The person who answers the ticket is not the person with root. The hand-off between the two is where tickets go to die.
You are buying a product. When something is wrong, it is wrong for the product.
Where we differ
The machine is ours and the place is named: our own hardware in Drenthe.
Sending can run on a dedicated domain with its own reputation, on request.
S/MIME keys are issued on your domain, installed, and rotated on a schedule.
The reply is signed, and the signer is the operator.
| Pick them when | Pick us when |
|---|---|
| You need a few mailboxes and a website, and the work is genuinely not critical. | Your business depends on mail arriving. |
| A support ticket with a next-day answer is enough for the risk you carry. | You want the keys, the runbook, and a person whose name is on the pager. |
Not sure which one you are?
Open a brief and say what you have today. If the honest answer is that nothing should change, that is a valid result. You will get it in writing.