Cloud computing has always been viewed as technology of the future – and that future is already upon us. The cloud has already become a dominant force in enterprise IT, and this growing popularity can be traced to the long list of benefits it promises, whether you’re a one-man band or multinational conglomerate.
Regardless of the size of the business, selecting an IT model is a big deal as the decision will have far-reaching effects on your company. While there are many businesses that have already embraced the new frontier that is cloud computing, plenty more are still running on traditional IT infrastructure.
Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages, so if you’re weighing up traditional vs cloud computing and wondering would be a better fit for your company, it’s worth understanding what each solution entails beforehand.
We’ve pulled together some interesting highlights to help you in this regard, and here is what you need to know about these two solutions:
Traditional IT infrastructure
A traditional infrastructure involves housing your company servers and related hardware on premise. This legacy system is the model that most organizations have always relied on, with employees connecting to an on-site network in order to gain access to the company’s data and applications.
Advantages
The best thing about a traditional IT model is that it affords the organization total control of its data and applications since they are run on an on-premise server, and some appreciate the security and peace of mind that comes with hosting everything in-house.
Compared to cloud managed services, on-premise applications tend to be more reliable and allow organizations to maintain a better level of control. As far as on-premise software goes, businesses arguably enjoy better protection since the organization purchases a license or copy of the software which is used exclusively in-house and resides on location. What’s more, for organizations that need to run a range of applications, an in-house traditional IT infrastructure might be more viable as it provides them with a customizable dedicated system.
Disadvantages
On-premise environments are notorious for the costs involved in managing and maintaining them, costs that could be a huge drag on the bottom line of many smaller enterprises. An in-house setup requires investing in a data center and software licenses, in addition to having IT employees on the payroll to provide support and manage any potential issues that might arise. That’s not even considering the sums that could go into maintenance in the event something breaks down, needs upgrading or fails to work. Or even the overhead costs that come with housing your entire system on-premise, including higher power consumption. These are not costs you need to worry about with cloud managed services.
The components that make up a traditional IT infrastructure also tend to deteriorate over time. The upgrade costs involved notwithstanding, old infrastructure may not always run optimally and could also be more susceptible to data breaches. Speaking of data breaches, another considerable downside associated with traditional IT systems that you don’t get with cloud computing services is the money and time involved in implementing appropriate security measures, never mind the need to be constantly updated on the best security practices.
Conclusion
All in all, the benefits of managed IT services outweigh the downsides by far, but more than that, you’ll find that the disadvantages associated with this model can be mitigated or avoided altogether.
At the end of the day, it is upon you to evaluate which between traditional IT vs cloud computing is more suited to your business. The best thing? A hybrid system that involves a mix of the two exists, so that’s something you might want to consider if you’re still sitting on either side of the fence.
Learn more about Sangfor Managed Cloud Services or, if you have any questions or enquiries, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team today.
