by : OpSourced Support Team
January 08, 2023
When deciding which type of infrastructure to use for your business, it’s best to consider the specifics of your business.
There are benefits to both cloud and on-premise infrastructures. In general, we recommend using the cloud, but depending on the specific needs of your business, that might not be the best fit for you.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the important factors to consider when choosing the best infrastructure for your business.
OpSourced has been working as a DevOps consulting company since 2006. In that time, we’ve worked on hundreds of projects for companies of all sizes. Contact us today to find out how we can help you accomplish your DevOps needs.
Cloud infrastructure encompasses all aspects of cloud computing, including all hardware and software components. When using cloud services, your data is stored on third-party servers hosted by major cloud providers.
There are a few major advantages of cloud infrastructure, especially for small and growing companies. Cloud infrastructure offers unique flexibility and scalability. Because you’re only paying for the amount of server space you’re using, with cloud infrastructure, it’s very easy to increase or decrease the amount of space you need and are paying for. Cloud infrastructure management is less time-consuming and involved than traditional infrastructure. Managing cloud infrastructure is a task that majorly falls on the cloud provider, as you are not responsible for the functioning of the servers. What Is On-Premise Infrastructure? On-premise infrastructure is a cloud computing environment that is completely controlled and operated by your business. For on-premise infrastructure, your servers would be on-site with your team managing their operation.
A few aspects of on-premise infrastructure make it very different from cloud infrastructure. On-premise infrastructure typically has a high cost associated with it because businesses are responsible for purchasing the servers and software themselves.
On the other hand, using on-premise infrastructure is considered to be very secure and allows you to maintain a lot of control over your data.
On-premise infrastructure is a cloud computing environment that is completely controlled and operated by your business. For on-premise infrastructure, your servers would be on-site with your team managing their operation.
A few aspects of on-premise infrastructure make it very different from cloud infrastructure. On-premise infrastructure typically has a high cost associated with it because businesses are responsible for purchasing the servers and software themselves.
On the other hand, using on-premise infrastructure is considered to be very secure and allows you to maintain a lot of control over your data.
While you’re trying to decide which type of infrastructure is the best for your business, there are a few factors you should consider. There’s no clear answer to which type of infrastructure is better, but there may be a better option for your particular business. We’ll break down the advantages of cloud computing over computing on-premise and the advantages of on-premise computing over cloud computing.
Hosting
The major difference between cloud and on-premise servers is how your data is hosted. With cloud infrastructure, the servers are offsite at another location and are maintained over the network. On-premise servers are deployed in-house with your infrastructure. Because you have to take care of the functioning of the servers, on-premise servers require additional management and maintenance.
Deployment
Cloud infrastructure offers faster installation and support services because the infrastructure is set up and maintained by an outside company. Your resources are accessible and usable but hosted on the premises of the provider. With deployment, on-premise infrastructure has significantly more risk. The entire risk of failure lies with your business and engineers because they control the entirety of the infrastructure.
Scalability
The cloud has unlimited memory space available because the providers have extensive server capacity, and you can increase your usage as needed. Because of the expansive servers of third-party providers, cloud infrastructure is able to handle workloads based on need with timely software upgrades.
On-premise infrastructure has less scalability. If you’re hosting your own servers, increasing your server capacity most likely means purchasing new servers to store on-site. This means that increasing server capacity can be expensive, with a hard cap on the amount you can increase your usage.
Cost
Using cloud infrastructure tends to be lower cost because you only pay for the resources that you use. The price of your usage will adjust based on your consumption. With on-premise infrastructure, you’re responsible for the cost of hardware, energy usage, and space to store the servers. This will probably sit as a fixed cost unless you need to increase your storage capacity.
Control
Cloud infrastructure gives up some of your ability to control your own data. With cloud infrastructure, the data and encryption key reside with your provider, meaning that if there is downtime with the server, you might be unable to access your data for a period of time. If you choose to use on-premise infrastructures, you retain complete control over your data and what happens to it.
Security
Security is a main concern when it comes to cloud infrastructure. Security threats are real, and data in third-party servers that are part of a network could be vulnerable to security risks. With on-premise infrastructure, everything is maintained in-house, and you can have more privacy and security because your servers don’t need to be accessible through an outside network.
Cloud servers can save you the upfront costs of setting up and having space for servers, as well as the maintenance to keep them running. OpSourced can build out your infrastructure to keep your data as accessible and usable as your business needs. Our team of engineers are experienced in creating infrastructure for a variety of workloads and business types.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you pick out and set up the infrastructure that will be most effective for your business.
