Migrating to the Cloud - A Cost Benefit Analysis of Cloud vs On-Premise Computing

Many businesses have taken advantage of the benefits available from migrating their On-Premise IT to a Cloud delivered infrastructure such as scalability, self-service provisioning, redundancy and pay-per-use services. In this article we examine what exactly is involved, based on factors such as cost, performance and security.

A Cloud computing implementation (where your IT infrastructure and resources are hosted and managed by a provider such as DC Two) when compared to on-premise (where IT is hosted and maintained physically in your own premise usually by your own staff) moves the management and cost centre of your IT to an Operational Expenditure (OpEx) model from Capital Expenditure (CapEx). This can have many positive benefits for a business which are discussed below.

Reduced Costs

With Cloud computing you only need to pay for the resources you consume, with none of the on-going procurement, maintenance and upkeep costs associated with your own hardware / software installation. Plus, price is normally billed on a monthly basis.

Scalability & Provisioning

In a Cloud environment computing performance can be scaled up or down on demand driven by user requirements and company growth. Whilst new applications or software can be provisioned instantly, removing both delays and configuration issues when compared to an on-premise solution.

Automatic Updates

Any future updates in terms of software and hardware is catered for in a cloud solution by the provider via automated monthly licenses. This ensures computing performance and software version control is always optimised.

Remote Access

Your employees, partners and clients can access their full computing power and server resources remotely 24/7 rather than having to wait until being back in the office.

Disaster Recovery

A good Cloud implementation will come with a complete backup and replication solution ensuring ultimate downtime protection in the event of unforeseen issues.

Security

Whilst it may seem counter intuitive, your data security will be better in a cloud environment than in on-premise IT infrastructure solution. Datacentres (where cloud is hosted and delivered from) operate 24/7 with constantly monitored multiple levels of both physical and virtual security systems.

Of course, every business is different and to ensure a full understanding of the implications of moving to a Cloud based solution we advise you should undertake a complete cost comparison analysis. This is a process DC Two have implemented many times and can help you with.