TSTS Event Recap: Moving to the Cloud? Pros and Cons

On June 26th, 2018, Eddy Boggs (Networking Director) gave a free seminar to discuss the pros and cons of Cloud integration for various business types.

On-Premise vs. Cloud

There are advantages and disadvantages to both data storage platforms

Costs

Cloud – You get to rent out someone else’s space and use it as long as you want. Also, you pay only for what you use. So, if you use 10GB of space one month and only 2GB in another, you pay accordingly. This way, you have the choice to adjust usage based on your cash flow.

On-Prem – You’ve already paid for the resources, so no re-occurring costs. Adjusting usage based on your cash flow is not needed.

Growth

Cloud – You can use cloud solutions to quickly expand into new regions without having to make huge investments. You can expand your data in to different regions of the US or even Globally.

On-Perm – Your infrastructure is usually built with some growth in mind. So adding new users or more data is as simple as ‘just adding it’.

Flexibility

Cloud – Cloud is ideal for any business that has fluctuating demands. Say that sales during the holiday season are at least double of what you sell during the rest of the year. Your infrastructure should dynamically scale based on your business demand and growth. That’s exactly what the cloud can do. You have the option to add more storage space and computing resources when you want. At the same time, you can scale it back when you don’t need it. Since you pay only for what you use, you can tailor your resources to your needs.

On-Prem – Doesn’t need to scale back. You’ve already paid for the infrastructure and, hopefully, the holiday seasonal demands were built in to the design of the infrastructure.

Customization

Cloud – It caters to a large number of users and is usually not customized to suit a particular business’ needs. Know your comfort level for customization before going for a cloud application. If you have processes already in place, this is also something to take into consideration.

On-Prem – It’s customized to suit the business needs of an organization.

Performance

Many corporate studies have shown that Cloud applications outperform On-Prem.

Upgrades

Cloud – Implement daily, weekly or monthly upgrades which helps keep it current and optimized, but constant changes can be chaotic and disruptive for your business and your users. Find out if the cloud application you choose allows you to select which updates you want and whether you can test the updates before implementation in your system.

On-Prem – You have control over upgrades. You decide when and what upgrades will be introduced, but are also responsible for keeping up with and implementing new upgrades.

Security

Cloud – The cloud is likely a lot safer than your own servers; most cloud providers have put a lot of effort into keeping their clients’ data free from government interference and safe from cyber-criminals. Physical security is generally going to be better, too, as server farms are usually kept under lock and key and will have CCTV monitoring as well as human surveillance around the clock.

On-Prem – When a company maintains its in-house data center (on-premises), it has more or less complete control over who accesses its data. True in theory, but reports say that most security breaches happen as a result of malicious intentions of the employees.