By Alex Hunter

September 21, 2020
Last updated on November 4, 2022

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On-Premise vs Cloud: Which One Should You Choose for Your Organization?

Imagine that you are ready to expand your IT infrastructure territory. Do you keep your server on-premises, collocate with a third-party data center or do a complete shift to the cloud? Choosing one option over the other certainly requires weighing in your options against your company infrastructure, the number of IT staff, the cost you are willing to put in, and the industry standards that you need to follow. Read on to find out which to choose between On-Premise vs Cloud deployments for your business.

The Main Difference between On-Premises vs Cloud

Organizations using an on-premises solution operate their own cloud computing infrastructure. They often choose an on-premises cloud solution to leverage their own security protocol and/or existing infrastructure. Users then access computing resources on-demand over that private network. With an on-premises model, companies have direct control over their data which helps to meet security, regulatory compliance, and business governance requirements. IT teams have full control of upgrades and maintenance.

Public clouds are the most common type of cloud computing deployments. Cloud resources, such as storage and servers, are owned and operated by third-party cloud service providers and delivered over the internet. Hardware, application infrastructure, and other services available off-the-shelf are managed and owned by the cloud provider. Examples of public cloud providers include Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Public cloud deployments are highly scalable, flexible, and location independent.

On-Premise vs Cloud: Why Cloud

Cloud Advantages

Cloud storage has been constantly lauded for the multiple benefits that it offers. Some of them are mentioned below:

• Reduced IT staff responsibilities—Cloud servers are managed by third parties, thus reducing the responsibilities of IT staff when it comes to implementation, software patches, updates, etc.

• Better accessibility—With cloud servers, you can access your data from anywhere at any time, thus maximizing productivity and efficiency.

• Reduced upfront costs—Cloud storage just requires monthly operational expenses and no upfront costs.

• Adjustable budget—You can pay for cloud services every month, or just for the services that you use. When scaling up or down, you can adjust the services to your budget, and some services can be added, removed or left out of the plan.

• Adjustable to company needs—Cloud-based storage is scalable and does not need new hardware just to scale up a few extra terabytes of data.

• Efficient data recovery—Cloud servers offer better data backup facilities than on-premises solutions. This gives the peace of mind to organizations that they always have a backup to turn to if their local files are deleted.

Cloud Disdvantages

While cloud storage has many benefits, it’s not without its challenges and limitations. Here are a few:

• Rapid cost increases—The scalability of cloud servers is rapid, and costs can increase unknowingly when scaling up services or servers.
• Connection-dependent user experience—A bad internet connection causes delays and frustrations, resulting in a bad cloud user experience
• Connection-based access—A bad internet connection can potentially knock out your access to sensitive files, thus requiring the entire authentication and access process to resume. Hence, access to cloud servers is also based on internet connectivity.
• Lessened security—Working with cloud server vendors means that you are entrusting the management of your data to another party. Hence you run the risk of unauthorized access to your data. You need to choose a cloud vendor by properly weighing in their stance on security and the additional security measures that you have to undertake to ensure the safety of your data.
• Limited features—Most cloud providers tend to offer just the basic cloud services in their minimum packages. Hence, cloud servers can have limited features or charge more for additional ones.

On-Premise vs Cloud: Why On-Premise

On-Premise Advantages

The benefits of on-premises servers include:

• Lower monthly internet costs—Since on-premises solutions can operate without the internet, monthly internet costs are also reduced comparatively.

• Better security—Unlike cloud storage, on-premises solutions are not accessible or vulnerable to third parties, thus ensuring better security.

• Better control over server hardware—Upgrades, management, and modification of server hardware are dependent on IT personnel inside the company, thus eliminating the need to rely on others like in cloud server solutions.

• Better control over software customization—On-premises software solutions allow organizations to tweak, customize, and configure data within the software and tailor it to their needs, therefore offering better control.

On-Premise Disadvantages

The cons of on-premises solutions are:

• Additional IT support—Deploying, managing, and maintaining on-premises servers requires additional skilled IT support staff. The cost of extra support needs to be weighed in with the returns that you receive in your organization.

• Increased upfront and maintenance costs—The initial capital investment required for on-premises solutions is huge. So are the maintenance costs associated with hardware upgrades, software patches, and licensing requirements.

• Adherence to industry compliance—If your organization operates in regulated sectors, then there might be industry compliance issues to worry about. Most cloud solutions are made with compliance in mind, and to do the same with on-premises solutions requires a huge effort and skilled manpower.
• Risks of data loss—Data is what makes or breaks your business. A system malfunction of a compromised on-premises data center can bring down your business in seconds if you lose your data permanently. Cloud-based systems back up your data far away, but on-premises systems store backups on-site, which is risky.
• Limited scalability—If you see a surge in business operations, there is no way to scale up the infrastructure quickly and scale it back down if the business operations subside. This limited scalability is one of the biggest factors to consider when deploying on-premises solutions.

Choosing Between On-Premise vs Cloud

The question of whether to use cloud or on-premise software has no right or incorrect solution. The selection of the deployment plan will be influenced by the unique needs and requirements of each customer. Before making a definitive decision about cloud vs. on-premise software, there are a number of questions to consider:

• Can you afford the initial expenditure necessary for an on-premise solution? CapEx vs. OpEx
• Do you have the tools necessary to guarantee top-notch security for backup and disaster recovery?
• The upgrade cycle: How crucial is it to you that you have access to the most recent compatibility and feature updates?

On-Premise vs Cloud: The Best of Both Worlds with Hybrid

The solution to most business needs is hybrid cloud computing, which offers the best of both worlds. Hybrid clouds comprise a mix of on-premises infrastructure, private cloud services, and public cloud services, making it possible for you to reap the benefits of all three and adjust them to your organizational needs.

Characteristics of Hybrid Cloud

• A combination of an on-premises data center, private and public cloud resources, and all the workloads tied under a common data management solution for better visibility into the infrastructure.
• The ability to connect existing systems running on traditional architecture with newer cloud services.
• A secure, stable platform where the entire infrastructure farm can be consolidated and used with ease.

Benefits of Hybrid Cloud

• Business continuity—Ensures resilience, recovery, and contingency by reaping the benefits of secure on-premises solutions and the quick uptime and backups of cloud servers.

• Innovation—Provides the ability to innovate and choose the best working solution that fits your needs.

• Scalability— Enables scaling up and down with ease, as business needs change while keeping sensitive workloads on-premises.

• Security—Improves security as they keep sensitive workloads protected on-premises as opposed to the risks associated with full cloud solutions.

• Risk management—Allows slower transitioning to the cloud. Organizations have time to conduct risk management, plan cloud migration strategies and ensure that an instantaneous decision for cloud migration does not create long-term problems.

Adoption of Hybrid Cloud

You should adopt the hybrid cloud if you:

• Frequently change workloads, but you also want to secure sensitive data on-premises.
• Process big data continuously (using cloud service solutions) but also require some private, sensitive data to be secure.
• Want to separate critical workloads from non-critical ones.
• Want to move to the cloud incrementally at your own pace and time.
• Have short-term fluctuations in business operations, and sometimes you need to adjust operations quickly.
• Want better flexibility, both now and in the future.

Parallels RAS: On-Premise Vs Cloud

The best bet for your company infrastructure is the hybrid cloud. A hybrid cloud solution is flexible, secure, and scalable, and it allows for central management. Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) is your solution for cloud and on-premises management needs.

Parallels RAS offers flexible cloud deployment options, allowing you to leverage on-premises, hybrid, and public cloud server options. Organizations can mix and match Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH), hyper-converged systems, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), Azure Virtual Desktop, and is multi-cloud ready.

By supporting hybrid cloud deployment, Parallels RAS enables data segregation and migration between infrastructures and the flexibility of distributing workloads within the private and public cloud. Organizations with a variable number of users and applications can implement hybrid cloud or cloud-only deployment options to accommodate rapid changes with ease. However, if you are sticking to on-premises deployment, you can also do that easily with Parallels RAS.

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