SharePoint 2010 Hosting
SharePoint 2010, as are earlier versions, is a huge platform and requires resources and licensing that are beyond the capacities of small entities. As with shared and dedicated web hosting, SharePoint hosting may be a better option for small or medium businesses in general, but may also work for high availability and scalability requirements.
Clients may either use the Microsoft SharePoint Online (as a service – part of the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite) selecting either the standard or dedicated plans () or choose one of the SharePoint hosting companies. There is a blog post (powered by SharePoint 2010) that discusses several hosting plans at: http://www.sharepointevolved.com/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=70 using a number of parameters and offering different views (SharePoint views, that is). This is probably the most detailed compilation but is a little outdated now.
SharePoint hosting may be shared, virtual or dedicated and some companies may not offer all the versions (Foundation, Standard and Enterprise).
Below is a list of a number of SharePoint 2010 hosting companies in no specific order. I did not provide any verdicts and would leave it to the visitor to investigate and decide – especially that this is a dynamic market and things change rapidly. Also, your specific needs and business context (including future plans) is what determines your choice. It is best if you identify your needs and features (mandatory, good to have, optional ..), plans and budget before you tour hosting companies offerings and then compare their offerings against your needs. For example, a public facing site may require only one user and limited access with medium storage while a collaborative case will require a certain number of users in which case plan basis and cost per user will apply. For Foundation, you may consider your own dedicated web server if it meets the requirements.
SharePoint 2010 Hosting Sites (sample, as of February, 23, 2012, in no specific order):
apps4rent, asphostcentral, portalfronthosting, 724hosting, fpweb, asphostportal, rackspace, , sclerahosting, sherweb, sharepointhosting.uk, sharepointinitiative, seekdotnet, aivea, sharepoint-cloudhosting, portalfronthosting
