Cloud vs On-Premises Pros and Cons

文章目录

The matrix below endeavors to provide guidance as to the factors one should consider when looking towards on-premises or cloud deployments. Like everything else in IT, there are trade-offs, what is right for one organization may be totally inappropriate for another.

By prioritizing and then determining the type of technical and economic resources your organization is willing devote to each of the areas below, you’ll be able to make a better and more informed decision.

		Cost
On-Premises	Advantage	Can be cheaper in the long run
	Disadvantage	Significant upfront hardware and software costs (cap-ex) means a mistake can be hugely expensive
Cloud	Advantage	Predictable subscription pricing Costs allocated to op-ex No upfront hardware/software cost
	Disadvantage	Really need to project costs out over the long-term Software licensing can mitigate hardware savings

		Security
On-Premises	Advantage	Organization in full control of the data locally No third-party access to the data
	Disadvantage	Requires dedicated and knowledgeable resources If organization lacks appropriate expertise, it risks significant exposure
Cloud	Advantage	Deliver superior data security
	Disadvantage	Aggressively targeted by hackers Data could be accessed by 3rd party.

		Agility and Scalability
On-Premises	Advantage	Physical control over the hardware means upgrades can be tightly controlled
	Disadvantage	Need to plan well in advance to changes in demand because of the time necessary to research, justify, order, and deploy hardware. Could be stuck with excess IT infrastructure which may or may not be able to be re-purposed
Cloud	Advantage	Cloud resources can be rapidly adjusted to accommodate specific demand
	Disadvantage	Costs escalate when the cloud infrastructure is improperly managed and not properly tracked

		Resiliency
On-Premises	Advantage	Build out only the level of redundancy needed. Especially cost effective when 99.999% uptime isn’t a concern
	Disadvantage	Costly to properly build out when 99.999% is required
Cloud	Advantage	Much easier and in most cases more cost effective when building out multi-site/ geo-redundant server and storage
	Disadvantage	Outside your control - you’re at the cloud providers mercy

		Software Customization
On-Premises	Advantage	Readily able to customize the platform to meet unique requirements.
	Disadvantage	Customizations can lead to reliability and software support issues
Cloud	Advantage	SaaS platforms are quite stable. Updates are iterative
	Disadvantage	SaaS minimize the ability to modify the platform

		Software Deployment
On-Premises	Advantage	Technology can be deployed based on unique IT infrastructure and application requirements
	Disadvantage	Complexity can mean lengthy and difficult deployments
Cloud	Advantage	SaaS is quick to implement
	Disadvantage	SaaS is implemented to a lowest common denominator, limiting functionality

		IT Support
On-Premises	Advantage	Infrastructure and application expertise are readily available
	Disadvantage	Dedicated IT necessary, especially when applications are tailored to meet an organization’s unique requirements.
Cloud	Advantage	The economies of scale inherent to cloud deployments mean that IT support can manage more with less time and effort
	Disadvantage	The learning curve for cloud is significant. Properly trained personnel are expensive