Magento Stratus - Magento Going into the Cloud

Its an old battle on forums all over the web - which is better, a hosted solution or hosting your own solution on your own server, based on a platform such as Magento.

Well a recent new development from Magento indicates that this distinction is about to get a lot more blurry.

http://www.magentocommerce.com/stratus

Magento’s Project Stratus is the next evolution in eCommerce; an on-demand platform more powerful and flexible than any other.

Here is the Full FAQ:

Project Stratus FAQs

• What is Magento project Stratus?

  Project Stratus is Magento’s next-generation on-demand eCommerce platform. At its core, Stratus is an online version of our award-winning eCommerce platform. Everything you already know and love about the Magento platform is available with this hosted service. Stratus creates more choice for merchants to select the product and platform that best fits their needs. Stratus will empower merchants and developers to customize, modify, extend and integrate a hosted store as if it were their own code running on their own servers … an unprecedented capability in the market today

• I did not receive a registration key, how can I request one?

  Click on the request an invite key link and complete the request form.

• What happens after I apply to join the beta?

  The Magento team will review your application. Once you are accepted, you will receive an email with a unique link to complete your registration and activate your account.

• How long will the beta program run?

  The beta will run into early 2011.

• What happens at the end of the beta program?

  At the conclusion of the beta program, the service will convert to a generally available, paid-service. Your account/store will automatically convert into a production account.

• How is this different from other Magento versions?

  This service will provide the same core eCommerce functionality as on-premise versions. However, rather than downloading the software and running it on your own hardware, Magento provides the software to you as a service. You’ll simply log in to your web-based control panel to manage your account and your store.

• How much will the service cost once the beta is complete?

  Magento is still determining the pricing for the service.

• What type of support and SLA do you offer during the beta?

  During the Beta period merchants can expect that there will be periods when the site might not be available as we work to improve the offering based upon your feedback. Magento will strive to make sure any outages occur at off-hours and will notify our merchants in case of an expected outage. During the Beta period, merchants will be provided email and phone based support at no additional cost. Once the platform becomes generally available, support will be available on a tiered basis depending upon the needs of our merchants.

• Is the Beta PCI compliant

  Yes, the beta service is PCI compliant.