RAM is an abbreviation for Random Access Memory. This is a sort of computer memory, which, different from other storage devices like harddrives or DVDs, enables the info to be accessed directly without reading the previous content saved within it. Anytime an application is started, it is stored within the RAM, since it can be accessed much faster than if it was read from another media device. In terms of the hosting service itself, more RAM means that more web apps can operate at the same time on a given server, particularly if they are resource-demanding and are accessed by a significant number of people at the same time. In contrast to a shared web hosting package where the resources of a given account may be flexible and frequently depend on what other users consume too, a VPS provides a guaranteed amount of RAM that can be used all the time. That memory is assigned to one web server only and will not be used by other customers even when it's not used.