Cloud Storage vs. In-House Data Centers
Big businesses deal with a large amount of data. Data is perhaps the most important aspect of a company’s success, as it is directly related to money. Important information about the finances, customer data, and upcoming projects are all extremely vital, and care must be made as to where all of this is stored. If any of this data is lost or stolen, it could cost a major company thouseds, or even millions, of dollars. Therefore, we believe that protecting your data is the same as retaining your business’ money. For this reason, many companies are now opting to store their information on the cloud over the conventional in-house data center and asking us to help them make the switch. Choosing our services can prevent you from a lot of headache in the future.
What is the Difference?
While in most offices, the terms “cloud” and “data center” are almost interchangeable, there is a key difference between them. Sure, both options deal with storing data. However, cloud storage refers to using a third-party, off-site service to save information over the Internet, while data centers are in-house servers that save this information over the company’s network. This means that the former involves updates and maintenance done by an outside service provider, whereas the latter requires all upkeep to be done by the IT department within the company.
In the effort of full disclosure, we should tell you that cloud services do involve data centers. These servers are used to host the services and resources that any given company (or individual user) needs. The major deciding factors for changing over from their old data centers are cost and security. You should understand what both of these issues mean for you before asking us to upgrade your storage for the betterment of your company.
Cost
Having in-house servers might sound nice, because all of the necessary information and resources are close at hand. Still, the costs of maintaining these systems can quickly add up. For one, buying expensive equipment and top-end computers to ensure that all of the data is accessible when it is needed, in a timely fashion, means you will spend a lot. This is not a one-time cost, however. Such data centers also require hired professionals to continually maintain them, upgrade the hardware, and troubleshoot any errors. This means you must pay more salaries and keep more employees happy. Ditching this system means a direct turnover of savings in your company’s spending.
SMB companies can spend tens of thousands of EUROs for data centers, mostly for minimal configurations, to operate their data centers. Many major companies spend between ten and 25 million EUROs for the same purpose. The cost of setting everything up is also factored in, before adding in the maintenance and server fees, as well as the hardware spending. On the other hand, such services as Azure, AWS, and IBM Cloud offer subscription plans available at various tiers based on need. This means that you don’t need major capital to get your data storage system running. What company wouldn’t want to save thousands or millions of dollars? We are sure you do.
Security
We mentioned above that data equals money in today’s world. Stolen data is of the utmost severity and can lead a major company to become a laughing stock. Sure, there are some risks involved when a company’s data is stored at another site. Running an in-house data center means that all the necessary security measures are performed by your company’s team and continually up-to-date. With off-site storage, there is a risk of ensuring that all of the locations involved in the procedure must have the best possible security measures to protect the important data.
This concern is passable when looking at the major players in the data storage world. Our partners, Azure, AWS, and IBM Cloud, all ensure optimum security that comes with a guarantee. While it may sound nice to have your company’s own IT personnel working on protecting the information, there is no guarantee to the quality of their skills in doing so. On the other hand, our partners are major players in the data storage world and have the best possible employees in their employee, making sure everything is constantly updated and maintained so that your data is never lost or stolen.
Do You Need to Change Your System?
In order to make this decision, you should know that data centers have a list of limitations. For one, their storage capacity is limited. Upgrading it can cost a lot of money, and also cause your company to experience a temporary freeze of work as the upgrade is implemented. The alternative systems offered by Azure, AWS, and IBM Cloud are completely scalable to your company’s needs. And most important they are flexible too, you can get only what you need for the time that you need it. Most of the potential subscription plans come with the option of having unlimited storage and bandwidth. This means that you will never have to buy new storage hardware again.
Contact Us Today
If you are now considering making the switch, as you very well should be, then don’t delay the decision. Contact us today for more information as to how we can help you improve your company’s flow of data and reduce your overall spending. Most major companies are now delegating their data centers to off-site professionals at one of the major players, of whom we are partnered with. Let us analyze your current system and requirements and provide you with the solutions to all of your data concerns. You can save money and save space in your office. This decision should be a no-brainer.