Should You Migrate Your On-Premises Server To The Cloud?
The Cloud vs. On-Premises Server- Which Is Better?
The promise of savings in time and money coupled with newfound flexibility has made the cloud widely popular among businesses. However, on-premises servers installed in your own facility, behind your own firewall provides the tried-and-tested reliability and a level of control that your business needs.
So, should you adopt this new trend or continue with the legacy server because if it ain’t broke why fix it?
Before we begin learning how to migrate our physical servers to the cloud, let’s make a business case for it. Let’s see if it is always right to use the public cloud to back up your infrastructure and what are your options for backing up your data.
First a quick introduction to your data storage options.
What Is An On-Premises Server?
An on-premises server is a computer device or program that you own and maintain in-house. It is also referred to as “on-prem” and can be a database server, mail server, web server, application server, etc. You have full control of your on-premises server and are responsible for its maintenance, costs, and security.
What Is A Cloud Server?
The cloud refers to on-demand computer system resources such as data storage, computing power, etc. The most common references to cloud imply the “public cloud”, which is a third party provided service that you can “rent”. This cloud model consists of a multi-tenant environment where the computing resources are shared among multiple companies or individuals.
You can also have a cloud that is limited to a single organization, i.e. enterprise cloud. But in this blog post, we are more concerned about cloud solutions for small businesses. For small and medium businesses, the public cloud is more suitable owing to its lower cost and higher flexibility.
Here’s how the cloud and on-premises infrastructure are different.
Difference Between On-Premises And Cloud Server
The main difference between on-premises and the cloud is in the deployment. In cloud-based solutions, there are no capital expenses and you only pay for the computing resources you use. While on-premises servers consist of physical IT infrastructure that is installed within your office facility.
This means that cloud-based solutions allow you to scale up or down based on your requirements with no capital expenses. On-premises servers, on the other hand, require costly and time-consuming physical upgrades. Hence physical servers lack the flexibility and scalability that the cloud offers.
But which is better - on-premises or cloud server?
Here are the on-premise vs. the cloud pros and cons
Advantages Of On-Premises Server
Here are the advantages of having an in-house physical server:
You will have physical control over your data and backup.
Since you retain your data in-house, third parties don’t have any access to your data.
You don’t need an Internet connection to access your data.
You will have purpose-built systems with customizable hardware.
You can put in place highly secure data encryption.
You will have a single tenancy data-center, which makes compliance easier.
Your recovery process will be faster.
Disadvantages Of On-Premises Server
You will need capital investment in a physical and virtual infrastructure.
It will require dedicated space for a server rack, closet, or room.
Your data will be more susceptible to loss of location due to disasters such as fire, floods, earthquakes, etc. and associated blackouts.
There will be no uptime or recovery time guarantees.
Scaling your capacity will require large investments.
Is An On-Premises Server Suitable For Your Business?
On-prem or physical servers are suitable for businesses that aren’t planning to scale rapidly. Also, businesses that require complete data visibility and control and those who are bound by compliance requirements will need on-premises servers.
Advantages Of Cloud Server
You don’t need capital expenses on onsite hardware.
Cloud storage capacity can be scaled up and down as and when needed.
Cloud backup and storage solutions are usually on-demand, so you will only pay for the resources you use.
You can use built-in automated data backup.
Data recovery can be initiated from anywhere, using any device.
There will be near-zero downtime risk.
You are protected from loss of data, loss of systems, loss of applications, and loss of business location.
Disadvantages Of Cloud Server
You don’t have complete visibility and control of your data.
A multi-tenant data storage environment brings security and compliance challenges.
You will lose access to your data and backup if the Internet goes down either on your side or on your cloud solution provider’s side.
Complete data recovery may be time-consuming.
Is The Cloud Server Suitable For Your Business?
Cloud servers are well-suited to rapidly growing companies, which are likely to outgrow storage and computing resources quickly. Companies that are dependent on uptime are also better suited to the cloud. For most small and medium businesses, the cloud is the best solution because:
It is an affordable solution as it doesn’t require physical space, or maintenance costs, power requirements, software updates, etc.
It can be scaled up or down easily and without capital expense.
It is flexible and can be deployed quickly to experiment and iterate before committing to large capital expenditure.
So, is the cloud the ultimate solution? Maybe not...
Should You Backup Your Cloud Server?
What happens if your cloud service provider’s infrastructure becomes compromised? Your business systems must have high reliability and high availability. This means having such a single point of failure is not desirable because if it fails, it will bring the entire system to a standstill.
Your data backup is only as good as your recovery process. How quickly you can restore your systems and data after a disaster occurs is another important factor. An on-site backup connected directly to your network will be much faster than a backup that depends on internet connectivity. Your business may also be required, by local or federal regulations, to keep an on-premises copy of all the data.
While the debate of on-premises vs. cloud infrastructure rages on, you can, in fact, have the best of both worlds by using a hybrid cloud model.
The Hybrid Solution: On-Premises Backup For Cloud Server
The Hybrid cloud solution comprises of two or more clouds connected to support load balancing between private in-house resources and virtualized resources in the public cloud. You can thus create an ideal configuration balancing cost and security. You get the cost-effectiveness of the public cloud and the security of your physical server.
So if you have already invested in physical on-site servers then instead of scraping them, you can use them to add another security layer to your data backup. The hybrid cloud is for you if you are paranoid about a single point of failure. It also helps you achieve the industry best practice of a 3-2-1 backup strategy.
So Which Is Better- On-Prem Or The Cloud?
Whether you choose an on-premises, cloud, or a hybrid server, your decision must be guided by your business goals and customer expectations. Your requirements will vary based on whether you require an ability to recover, restore, or to maintain business operations. In any case, a reliable and effective backup and recovery solution will help you minimize downtime and keep business operations functioning smoothly even in the case of a disaster.
So here’s the best practice…
Migrating your server to the cloud is a no-brainer for businesses that rely on high availability and high reliability. But, after you have migrated your server to the cloud, you should not dump your old hardware and software. The 3-2-1 backup strategy is the most effective and mitigates most of your data loss risks. Using a hybrid system with data stored on the cloud as well as maintaining an on-premise server backup gets your system closer to an ideal backup and recovery system.