What Works for you
Published: 2019-09-04 07:11 AM by Lawrence
If you’ve been in business for many years, are familiar with Murphy’s Law, or just have plain bad luck, you know that a failed server can have catastrophic effects on your business. But let’s assume you already have a sound business continuity plan in place, and you know what you’re going to do if that server fails. What should you consider when it comes to choosing the right server for your business in the first place?
The biggest decision is whether to have a cloud-based or in-house server infrastructure. While it may sound like a black or white selection, there are many things to consider. The first factor is how important uptime is to your business. Cloud solutions are usually less expensive than in-house. Also the benefits of being in the cloud can far outweigh the costs for some businesses. For example, an online business that is reliant on web-based transactions will consider uptime an extremely important factor. Therefore, they will likely be willing to go for a cloud-based solution that can guarantee a certain level of uptime. Other businesses not as dependent on uptime may be more suited to an in-house set up.
Here are some pros and cons of cloud vs in-house servers.
In-House Server
| Pros | Cons |
| Gives you physical control over your backup. | Requires a capital investment in hardware and infrastructure. |
| Keeps critical data in-house. No third party has access to your information. | Needs space in your office for a rack or server room/closet, in addition to dedicated IT support. |
| No need to rely on an Internet connection for access to data. | May be more susceptible to data loss during disaster situations due to its in-house location. How often you take the data offsite will reflect how much data you’ll lose in an emergency. |
| Can be more cost-effective for small to mid-sized companies depending on the size of the server. | No uptime or recovery time guarantees. |
Cloud Server
| Pros | Cons |
| No need for onsite hardware or capital expenses. Well-suited to smaller companies that may outgrow storage too quickly. | The costs of the data recovery could outweigh the benefits for companies that are not as dependent on uptime and instant recovery. |
| Storage can be added as needed. Solutions are often on-demand, so you only pay for what you need. | Every organization will have a limit to data that can be stored in the cloud due to storage availability and cost. |
| Backup and restore can be initiated from anywhere, using any computer, tablet, or smartphone. | If the Internet goes down on your side or on your cloud provider’s side, you won’t have access to any of your information. |
| Data can be backed up in the cloud as regularly as 15 minute intervals, minimizing data losses in disaster situations. Small data set recovery time is improved. | Full data recovery could prove very time-consuming and impactful on systems. |
As you can see, there are many pros and cons of each setup. For this reason, we often recommend a model that fits the client’s needs and budgets. It’s a decision that needs to be taken seriously and considered thoroughly before a final consensus is taken. But we do hope that this bit of information will help the process. If you are uncertain what might suit you best , give us a call and we can put you in contact with the experts and get you the best price for your solution.