For many businesses, it is hard to determine whether online or on-premises storage is the right choice. There are many considerations to take into account, including their benefits and challenges. Let's analyze both options to help companies decide on the correct option.
What is Cloud Software?
Cloud solutions allow companies to manage, store and access your data and applications through the Internet in a fast and efficient way. This eliminates the need to acquire physical infrastructure located within the building. Cloud software is characterized by improving mobility, reducing investment costs, decreasing implementation times, and being able to escalate very quickly.
What is On-Premise Software?
Unlike cloud-based software, on-premise software is installed on the company's local servers and devices. This allows physical access to information and direct control over the configuration, management, and security of the data.
The choice between cloud or an on-premise l alternative depends a lot on the specific needs of your company.
Cost
Cost is one of the most important aspects for companies when making the decision between an on-premise or a cloud environment. While the cost issue is a myth when it comes to cloud software, many companies believe that these systems are expensive it is completely the opposite. Cloud systems are accessible to small and medium-sized companies, as its main feature is that they do not require initial costs, everything is on-demand. On the other hand, there are the costs of the systems on-premise or local systems, the only advantage that we can find with respect to this type of system and its costs is that the client buys the license only once and they can have a total cost of ownership. In general, these costs depend on the size of the organization and the number of concurrent users, the required support, training, and updates.
Security
Security is another of the main concerns that companies have, considering the information stored in a system is the heart of the operation. Cloud software has the great advantage of mitigating concerns regarding theft and loss of information, while on the other hand, local software is not capable of offering a high level of information security. We should consider that many times the strongest attacks come from the inside, we can avoid this very well with the cloud.
Implementation
Cloud environments are fast to deploy and can be done over the Internet in a matter of hours, while local applications that need to be installed on a physical server could take weeks or even months. Another major difference is that the on-premises platforms are characterized by high energy costs due to powering on-premises servers while cloud systems can help to significantly reduce energy bills.
Flexibility
Another item is the flexibility that cloud services provide. Companies do not need to get very robust servers for future growth, the cloud allows the service to grow or decrease in a very simple way. Another feature is to say goodbye to the tedious installation, licensing, support, and maintenance issues, all this is handled by the cloud provider.
Mobility
One of the biggest advantages of the cloud is that it offers access anywhere and anytime, while on-premise systems are only hosted on the computers and servers that are located within the company, even if the company has VPN systems. Having the possibility that collaborators can access the different applications at any time and anywhere through a web browser from any device allows your company to go faster and be more competitive, while on-premise solutions tend to become an obstacle, especially for decision-makers and vendors who spend a lot of time out of the office or those employees whose activities demand an immediate response.
