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On-Premise vs. Cloud: Key Differences, Benefits and Risks

In today’s world of enterprise IT, there are many factors that a company must consider to decide whether a cloud infrastructure is the right fit. Conversely, many companies are unable to leap into the cloud, instead relying on their tried-and-true legacy and on-premise applications and software to do business.

As a trusted IT advisor, we get asked all the time, “cloud-based or on-premise?” The truth is, there is no one size fits all approach. It depends entirely on what’s essential to your business.


Let’s compare both options across four main competencies: cost, security, scalability, reliability, deployment, and control.

On Premise
  • 1. Cost:
  • On-premise requires a larger upfront capital investment for hardware and installation. Once the server is installed, dedicated support and maintenance will likely be required. An on-premise server will always be more expensive in the short term.
  • 2. Security
  • Data security is in your hands, and it is much more of a manual process. On the other hand, you also have more control over how to secure your data. For some companies this is a serious positive, while others might not have the expertise to secure their network.
  • 3. Scalability
  • Manual labor and hardware/software is required to scale properly.
  • 4. Reliability
  • On-premise servers are not reliant on an internet connection, which is vital for many companies.
  • 5. Deployment
  • In an on-premise environment, resources are deployed in-house and within an enterprise’s IT infrastructure. An enterprise is responsible for maintaining the solution and all its related processes.
  • 6. Control
  • In an on-premise environment, enterprises retain all their data and are fully in control of what happens to it, for better or worse. Companies in highly regulated industries with extra privacy concerns are more likely to hesitate to leap into the cloud before others because of this reason.
Cloud-Based
  • 1. Cost
  • There’s typically a monthly fee and you pay as you grow. A cloud solution is much quicker to get set up and running and it has fewer maintenance expenses.
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  • 2. Security
  • Cloud solutions are reliant on third-party security measures. The data backup process is automated, making it quicker and easier.
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  • 3. Scalability
  • You’ll probably find it more flexible in terms of growth, and it should be less of a hassle to expand your storage.
  • 4. Reliability
  • Cloud solutions depend on an internet connection.
  • 5. Deployment
  • In a public cloud computing (such as public cloud, private cloud, and a hybrid cloud) environment, resources are hosted on the premises of the service provider but you are able to access and use as much as you want at any given time.
  • 6. Control
  • In a cloud computing environment, the question of ownership of data is one that many companies – and vendors for that matter, have struggled with. Data and encryption keys reside within your third-party provider, so if the unexpected happens and there is downtime, you maybe be unable to access that data.

Why a Hybrid Cloud Solution?

While the debate of the pros and cons of an on-premise environment pitted against a cloud computing environment is a real one, there is a middle-of-the-road solution maybe works best.

A hybrid cloud solution is a solution that features an element of different types of IT deployment models, ranging from on-premise to private cloud and public cloud.

Hybrid cloud eliminates the traditional barriers that exist between public cloud, private cloud and on-premise servers.

What are my options?

Are you a larger enterprise with the resources to make a bigger capital investment? In that case, on-premise might be your best bet. If you’re a small-to-midsize business that is budget conscious and looking for a less hands-on approach, you might consider cloud-based. If neither provides you with the results you want, try on hybrid solutions.

Regardless of what kind of hosting environment you are looking for, Addova is here to help.

Our hosting is designed to put you in control. Being a solution-oriented managed hosting provider means we deliver beyond servers, cores, gigs, and bandwidth. We understand your workloads, then design, implement and manage the infrastructure 24/7, so you do not have to.

Addova’s Hosting – Expect 100% Uptime

Put Addova in the driver’s seat to assess, transform and manage your core infrastructure giving you the power to auto-scale with a rock-solid server foundation. We include 24/7 operations to take over all the day to day tasks, ensuring your applications and infrastructure are dependable, scalable and secure.

Features

• Enterprise Architecture
• Autoscale CPU/RAM
• Pay-as-you-grow or Private storage
• High Availability standard
• Flexible Backups
• Managed services included

Contact us today for a free consultation to learn more about which Hosting option is best for running your business.