Run your business software on a hosted Windows server in France
Move the business software off the tower in the cupboard: an always-on Windows machine in France, reachable over RDP.
Starting at €13/mo
Introduction
A line-of-business application — accounting, sales management, payroll, ERP, maintenance software — still too often lives on a tower sitting in an office cupboard. Hosting it on a remote server means moving the software and its database onto a Windows machine that stays powered on and is reachable over RDP from any workstation. At By-Hoster the configuration we recommend for that is Windows - Plus at €13/month incl. VAT: 8 vCores, 16 GB of RAM, 200 GB of SSD, 500 Mbps, delivered in 10 minutes.
Why not the €8/month entry plan? Our published rule of thumb is 4 GB of RAM for light use — RDP plus office work, a single user — and 8 GB as soon as you add business software, SQL Server Express or several concurrent users. A management application rarely arrives alone: its database runs alongside it, together with a browser, a mail client and a session left open all day. The 16 GB of the Plus plan, twice that reference figure, leave room for those sessions running side by side.
What we supply is the machine: the Windows system, full administrator access, the network, snapshots and human 24/7 support. Licences remain your responsibility: the Microsoft one, those of your software vendors (Sage, EBP, Cegid, Ciel and others), and SQL Server if your application depends on it. The server runs in our single DC-FR_NA(01) datacenter in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, operated directly by the association's technical team, under French jurisdiction.
What the server includes, and what it does not
Four configurations, €8 to €49.99 a month
Core at €8 (4 vCores, 8 GB, 50 GB SSD), Plus at €13 (8 vCores, 16 GB, 200 GB) which is the most popular one, Max at €26 (16 vCores, 32 GB, 500 GB) and Titan at €49.99 (24 vCores, 64 GB, 800 GB, 1000 Mbps). Monthly prices incl. VAT, 10% off with annual billing, no commitment by default.
Three Windows systems, no extra cost
Windows Server 2025 (the latest LTSC release), Windows Server 2022 and Windows 11 are offered at checkout at no extra charge. You can change your mind later by reinstalling from the client area. RDP access optimised up to 60 FPS, plus a fallback VNC console if you ever lock yourself out.
2 administrative RDP sessions
Windows Server allows 2 concurrent administrative RDP sessions. Beyond that, opening application RDP access to more colleagues requires Microsoft RDS CAL licences, which you buy yourself. We neither supply nor resell them, and we would rather say so before you order.
Licences are not included
By-Hoster installs the system but does not supply or resell any Microsoft licence: you must hold a valid one for your usage. The same rule applies to your business software and to SQL Server, whose free Express edition is capped at 10 GB per database, 1 socket or 4 cores and 1.4 GB of RAM for the engine.
What pushes the server out of the cupboard
Replacing the office server
A tower in a cupboard means a power supply failure, a burglary, a water leak or a fire can take the accounts along with the walls. In a datacenter you only manage what runs on the machine.
Remote work and multiple sites
The same Windows desktop, identical, from the branch PC, the computer at home or a second location. Nothing to reinstall on every workstation, nothing to resynchronise at night.
Several people on the same file
Software and database stay in one place: everyone opens an RDP session instead of copying files around. The 2 administrative sessions cover two people; beyond that, plan for RDS CALs and the matching RAM.
Testing an upgrade without risk
Trigger a snapshot from the client area, run your software update, test it on one dataset, and roll back to the previous state if the result is not what you expected.
Software and database in one place
The application and its database engine on the same machine, without crossing the office network. SQL Server still needs its own licence: Express is free, Standard and Enterprise are paid.
Growing without buying hardware
The range runs from Core (8 GB, €8/month) to Titan (64 GB, €49.99/month): you order the configuration that matches current usage, with no commitment and no hardware to write off. Annual billing takes 10% off.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, in the vast majority of cases. You get a complete Windows machine with administrator access: you install your application exactly as you would on a physical server, then connect over RDP. The honest nuance: By-Hoster supplies and operates the machine, its system, its network and its access. Installing the software, configuring it and making it behave is down to you or your usual integrator.
We recommend Windows - Plus at €13/month: 8 vCores, 16 GB of RAM, 200 GB of SSD, 500 Mbps. Our published rule of thumb is 4 GB for light use and 8 GB as soon as business software is added, but a management application comes with its database and RDP sessions left open all day: the 8 GB of the Core plan go fast. For many concurrent users or several heavy applications, aim for Max (32 GB, €26/month) or Titan (64 GB, €49.99/month).
Four configurations, monthly prices incl. VAT: Core at €8 (4 vCores, 8 GB, 50 GB SSD), Plus at €13 (8 vCores, 16 GB, 200 GB), Max at €26 (16 vCores, 32 GB, 500 GB) and Titan at €49.99 (24 vCores, 64 GB, 800 GB, 1000 Mbps). Annual billing takes 10% off. That price covers the machine, the infrastructure and support; it does not include the Microsoft licence, your vendor's licence, RDS CALs or SQL Server.
Yes, for all four: Sage hosting, EBP hosting, Cegid hosting and Ciel hosting go into the sizing and the limits specific to each product. One point applies to all four: we are not a partner, not a reseller and not certified by those vendors, and their licences stay on your side. The machine is the same in every case; what differs is what your vendor allows.
Four points are worth an email before you order. One: does your licence agreement allow installation on a remote server and use over RDP? Two: which Windows Server release does your vendor certify today, 2025 or 2022? Three: which database engine is expected, and which SQL Server edition? Four: who migrates the existing data, you or your integrator? Those answers decide which configuration you should order.
A licence is required, and it is not supplied. By-Hoster installs the operating system you pick at checkout but does not supply or resell Microsoft licences: you must hold a valid one for your usage. That is a deliberate position, and it applies just as much to RDS CAL licences beyond the 2 administrative sessions, to paid SQL Server editions and to your business software licences.
Windows Server allows 2 concurrent administrative RDP sessions. That is enough for two people to work, or for an integrator to step in while you are connected. To open application RDP access to more colleagues, Microsoft requires RDS CAL licences that you buy yourself. Plan for the matching RAM too: every open session takes its share, which is one more argument for the 16 GB of the Plus plan.
It depends on your application: many management packages rely on SQL Server, others ship their own engine. Confirm it with your vendor. What we can state: SQL Server needs its own licence. Express is free but capped at 10 GB per database, 1 socket or 4 cores and 1.4 GB of RAM for the engine. Standard and Enterprise are paid Microsoft editions. None of that is bundled into our prices.
With a snapshot, triggered from the client area right before the version upgrade: run the update, test it, and restore the previous state if something breaks. A full reinstall is available on your own as well. To be clear: only snapshots are included, there is no automatic off-site backup of your files. Keep your own archiving policy outside the server.
In our single DC-FR_NA(01) datacenter in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, operated directly by the association's technical team. Virtualisation is KVM through Proxmox. Your data stays under French jurisdiction, within the GDPR framework, with no transfer outside the European Union. By-Hoster is a French non-profit association (RNA W162005815, SIRET 92395660100010) founded in 2023. We claim no industry certification, and we would rather say it than let it be assumed.
The server keeps running, but you cannot reach it: everything goes through RDP. That is the honest trade-off of a remote server. On the server side the access is optimised up to 60 FPS; how smooth it feels then depends on your own line. A fallback VNC console stays available if RDP itself misbehaves. Just plan a backup route — a mobile hotspot covers most situations.
Three systems are offered at checkout, at no extra cost. Windows Server 2025, the latest LTSC release, with mainstream support to 13 November 2029 and security updates to 14 November 2034, hotpatching and SMB over QUIC. Windows Server 2022, mainstream support to 13 October 2026 and security to 14 October 2031, if your vendor only certifies that one. Windows 11 is a client system, not designed to host a multi-user service.