Cloud refers to a computing platform based on multiple physical servers that use virtualization technology to create virtual machines with flexible configurations. The cloud infrastructure differs from the local in one fundamental point. The company hosts its IT infrastructure and software not in its local environment, in simple words - not at its premises on servers, but the supplier hosts all this in its cloud environment. For example, a company can order the amount of capacity they need, scale up or down based on overall usage, user requirements, and company growth, and pay as needed.
The cloud server uses virtual technology to host company applications outside the office. There are no capital outlays, data can be backed up regularly, and companies only have to pay for the resources they use. For those organizations that are planning for active global expansion, the cloud has even more appeal as it allows infrastructure to scale with minimal effort.
So, there are several fundamental differences between on-premises and cloud environments. Which path is right for your business depends entirely on your needs and what you are looking for in a solution.
It is worth noting that now the confrontation between cloud and local solutions if it existed, is becoming less antagonistic. The sharp edges of the distinction between cloud and on-premises environments are blurred when viewed from the perspective of application developers. So, we propose to list the most common factors that have the greatest influence on decision-making.
Expenses
Enterprises that deploy software locally on their premises are responsible for ongoing server hardware, power, and space costs.
Businesses that use the cloud computing model only need to pay for the resources they use, without any maintenance and upkeep costs, and the price is adjusted based on how much power is consumed.
But if you analyze the pricing model and costs as a choice factor, now you can find various options. To spread over time, the costs of local infrastructure, you can use a loan or the generosity of investors.
This way, you can avoid capital initial costs for IT infrastructure, but you still have to pay the amount and there are always financial risks on the side of the business.
Implementation
The local environment is so named because it is deployed within the company and in the enterprise's IT infrastructure. The company is responsible for supporting the solution and all related processes. In a cloud computing environment, whether private, public, or hybrid cloud, resources are hosted on the premises of the service provider.
However, thanks to the popularity of container platforms like Kubernetes - software for automating deployment, scaling, and coordination - they are used to organize a template, in a positive sense, deployment. The implementation process will be for the end user without noticeable differences, regardless of whether your infrastructure is built locally or in the cloud. Therefore, the management of many workflows today will look same. No matter how and where the computing environment was implemented, firms can access these resources at any time.
Scaling
Obviously, at this point, the local infrastructure is losing ground. It is not easy to scale up and down, these changes will always be associated with a long process of purchasing and setting up new equipment.
It is very easy for a cloud environment to scale on demand to expand the IT environment and provide resources as needed for additional capacity. Public cloud computing services offer almost unlimited scalability.
A scalable cloud architecture is possible through virtualization. Unlike physical machines, whose resources and performance are set relatively, virtual machines are highly flexible and can be easily scaled up or down. They can be moved to another server or placed on several servers at the same time; workloads and applications can be moved to larger virtual machines as needed.
Third-party cloud service providers have all the extensive hardware and software resources available to scale quickly, which a single business could not achieve cost-effectively on its own.
Control and Security
In a local environment, business stores all of its data and has full control over what happens to it. Due to additional privacy concerns, companies from highly regulated industries are often hesitant to move to the cloud.
In the cloud computing environment, many companies and vendors are worried about data ownership. The data and encryption keys are held by your third-party provider. If the unexpected happens and there is downtime, there is a chance that you will not get access to this data in time.
Often, the issue of security remains a crucial obstacle to the deployment of cloud computing. Cloud providers supply tighter access control than most on-premises environments. They keep their environments running and follow stricter security practices than those who manage on-premises infrastructure.
Regulatory requirements
Every company in every industry operates under some form of regulatory oversight. For government companies, as well as for several enterprises whose industry and regulatory documents are strictly regulated, it is extremely important that data storage strictly complies with the requirements of the law. Therefore, sometimes, local deployment of infrastructure is not even a matter of choice for the organization itself.
Businesses that have opted for a cloud computing model must exercise due diligence and ensure that their third-party provider complies with all the various regulatory requirements in their industry. Secret data must be protected and the confidentiality of customers, partners, and employees must be ensured.
When choosing a cloud infrastructure provider, you also need to remember about SLAs. A Service-level agreement is essential to ensure that the parties, supplier, and customer, understand a common service and service standard, including accessibility requirements. By entering into such an agreement, the supplier and the client have a documented method of working following their mutual expectations. An example of such an agreement is SLA SIM-Networks.
