Which is better for your business: Cloud or Data Center?

Every business depends on data in some way. In every industry, access to real-time data is essential for making decisions, identifying patterns of behavior, determining root causes, and much more. Hence, as a business leader, it's important to ask yourself where the data will live—in the cloud or in an on-premises data center? Each option has its advantages and disadvantages. In order to determine which one is best for your specific situation, you need to examine the pros and cons of each.

Cloud vs. Data Center: Understanding the Differences

Between a public cloud and a data center, the primary difference is where the data is stored. It is most common for data to be stored on your organization's premises in a data center. Your data center may be located in a location that is not owned by your organization-in this case, it is colocated, but not in the cloud. Cloud computing is completely remote, and your data can be accessed from anywhere.

The public cloud market is expected to grow to $266.4 billion in 2020, according to Gartner. However, organizations still have reasons for relying on their own, on-premises data center despite these numbers. This analysis will provide a more in-depth look at the cloud versus data center debate.

 

Data centers

On-premises data centers are servers or a collection of servers you purchase and maintain on site for your data storage needs. This is considered a disadvantage by some; you need to buy server hardware and networking hardware at the same time. As technology ages, it will need to be replaced. In addition to the cost of purchasing all of this equipment, you will also need to hire someone to configure, customize, manage, maintain, and secure it all. The staff members must be highly trained and keep up-to-date with their skills.

Last but not least, some people believe this model is limited in terms of scalability. While you can always buy more hardware, the time it takes to bring additional servers online will affect your business.

It's not all bad to rely on a data center since this model has some advantages. For starters, you are in charge of your data and equipment. Only the people you permit will have access to it. As the owner of the equipment, you also decide what hardware and software is used, which makes customization much easier as you don't have to get permission from a vendor. You can set up an environment that caters to legacy systems if you are running them. This gives you the flexibility to migrate to a newer system at your own pace.

 

The Cloud

Cloud-based solutions store your data on someone else's hardware and infrastructure. Many people are reluctant to give up so much control. Some organizations don't feel comfortable giving their data to someone else, even though reputable cloud hosting vendors conduct background checks on employees.

 

There are also concerns about security when using the cloud. It is still your responsibility to protect your data, even though your vendor is storing it. You are the one who pays the price if data is compromised. Certain companies believe that if they are to be responsible, then they must also be responsible for security. Accessibility is another concern. Whenever you lose your internet connection, you won't be able to access your remote data stores.

The security of cloud-based hosts is also viewed as an advantage. To ensure that everything is configured properly, constantly maintained, and adequately secured, reputable vendors hire highly trained, experienced staff members.

Cost and scalability are other benefits of cloud-based data. Since you do not need to pay up-front for hardware and infrastructure that will be outdated, you see immediate savings. In addition, cloud computing vendors allow you to only pay for what you use, so you do not have servers sitting idle and unused. This brings us to the scalability issue. Additional space is readily available when needed. The cost may be a bit higher, but it is there when you need it. Likewise, if your data storage needs decline, your usage costs will decrease.

 

Cloud Computing vs. Data Centers

Being aware of the advantages and disadvantages of each option will help you decide which option is right for you. In the debate between cloud and datacenter, not everything that is said is based on fact. Let's examine some common misconceptions.

 

There is no security in the cloud:

This is one of the most common myths about the cloud, and it was a major obstacle during the early days of cloud adoption. Because data or services were moved to the cloud, people believed (incorrectly) that the cloud was less secure because other people could access them. These beliefs are more inaccurate now.

As far as security goes, most cloud providers are actually better than data centers because they have experts who manage and maintain the servers and infrastructure.

 

Data centers are too expensive to run:

It is true that the cloud can be cheaper and can work better, but this isn't always the case. Buying from one vendor is not always the same as buying from another. Cloud service costs also vary according to time of day, usage, and other factors. While moving to the cloud may be cost-effective for some businesses, others may incur unnecessary costs, especially if the migration isn't planned properly or if they require a lot of bandwidth.

 

Consolidating data is a challenge:

People tend to think that moving to the cloud is an extremely difficult and time-consuming process because there are so many moving parts involved. Unfortunately, this isn't completely true. It makes sense to think twice about considering a cloud migration if you've heard a number of horror stories about cloud migrations gone wrong. Often, these difficulties could have been avoided if the organization had planned the migration properly.

Data centers are required for all mission-critical applications:

Many people still believe that mission-critical applications require a dedicated administrator on site who will ensure availability and security. It is true that these solutions require high levels of uptime, but you must ask yourself if your team can maintain the same level of service as your cloud provider.

Because a reliable cloud partner is committed to maintaining the services, its service-level agreement will likely meet or exceed that of an internal team. Although mission-critical applications should be kept in your own data center, they are not necessarily more secure on-premises than in the cloud.

So which is the more secure option?

This is a difficult question to answer. With the resources you have, the best option is the one that will help you reach your business goals. Some IT teams might prevent you from exploring one option over another. A common problem with smaller IT departments is that they lack the expertise and experience necessary to migrate to the cloud or operate an on-premises data center. The team may not even be able to tell you which option is better for your organization.

Managed services providers can help. A deep bench of well-trained, experienced professionals can help you decide which solution is best for your organization, and then assist in planning, implementing, training, managing, and supporting your project.