Six months ago, with the Aussie dollar riding high at US$1.07, hosting in the US seemed cheaper than ever. But with our local currency now down to US$0.91 and falling, the question is just how expensive will that US hosting become?

Cloud computing has prompted a huge shift in outsourcing to the ‘as-a-service’ method of expensing IT services, which exposes Australian businesses to currency fluctuations in real-time.

Even modest changes in exchange rates can have drastic effects on costs. Take for example a US$100 per month contract bought six months ago with a US host. At that time, you were paying AU$93 per month. That same contract today is costing you AU$110 per month, a price rise of 18% in just six months.

And this might just be the beginning with many analysts tipping the Aussie to fall as low as US$0.75 over the coming year. That would represent an eye-watering 43% increase in hosting costs.

So if you’re hosting with a US company, and missing out on all the benefits of local infrastructure and support, it might be time to think about mitigating your currency risk and bringing your hosting back to Australia.