Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 9 seconds

Weigh the Pros and Cons of Cloud vs Local Computing Featured

Weigh the Pros and Cons of Cloud vs Local Computing brown and beige weighing scale

Many companies in the IT sector were once concerned about data management. However, the rise of various alternatives both at the cloud and local level has minimized the challenges and concerns people had due to the availability of options that people could choose from in their data storage initiatives. Small businesses can now store many terabytes of data, something which could have been impossible decades ago due to the various requirements needed to build a data center and the expertise needed. With the rising dependence on data by organizations, there is a growing conversation on the right place to store data. The critical question among most people is where is the best place to store data between the local machines and the cloud. I have provided some critical information you need to know about the on-premise and cloud storage systems and weighed the pros and cons of the two.

What are local servers?

The local servers are physical computing hardware units that are purchased for the needs of a single company. A physical server built varies widely based on the computing needs of the business. Some of the physical equipment that needs to be purchased includes cabinets and rack servers.

What are cloud-based servers?

Cloud servers are millions of square feet of mega data centers in physical buildings housing rows of servers which process vast amounts of data per second. An example of such a data center is the Kolos Data Center in Norway, one of the world's largest cloud facilities. Data centers consume thousands of megawatts of processing power and host data belonging to different organizations worldwide.

Pros and cons of cloud vs local computing

Local servers

Pros

  1. Easier upkeep

Local servers are easy to manage as a traditional choice. Considering these systems have been there for decades, they already have an existing ecosystem of experts who will help maintain and offer necessary services. Companies will not have to look for expensive specialists and experts to operate the software or hardware.

  1. Enhanced security and control

Even when there are power blackouts and internet outages, companies can still function well with the help of backup generators. Furthermore, if something goes wrong in one of the systems, the in-house teams can rush and fix them accordingly. Companies do not have to wait with their fingers crossed for the service provider to fix the servers.

Cons

  1. High cost

Setting up, installation and maintaining local servers is costly. An entry-level server costs more than $500. Furthermore, there is the cost of managing the servers and getting the right people to do it. There is also the challenge of energy consumption

  1. Slow adaptability

Businesses keep changing with time. As such, the storage also needs to adapt to changes. Sadly, local storage is not good at adapting to the changes as businesses grow. If it does, the cost implications can be high.

Cloud-based servers

Pros

  1. Cheap upfront and long-term costs

Calculating the cost of local servers is difficult because of many variables that emerge. However, with the cloud, you get what you see. Unlike the local storage, you do not have to purchase hardware software or hire people to manage or maintain your data in the cloud.

  1. Fast updates

Flexibility allows businesses to scale specifications up or down whenever they need it. With the cloud, you easily decide the plans you want, server management, RAM, backup and other things.

Cons

  1. More transition costs

While the installation cost can be low, there is an additional transition cost, which are not listed on the available plans of a service provider. These costs can affect operations.

  1. Reliability issues

Since it operates in a networked environment, network problems can have an impact on the servers and connectivity to the systems. This will substantially affect the ability of the organizations to access their data.

Read 1411 times
Rate this item
(0 votes)
Scott Koegler

Scott Koegler is Executive Editor for PMG360. He is a technology writer and editor with 20+ years experience delivering high value content to readers and publishers. 

Find his portfolio here and his personal bio here

scottkoegler.me/

Visit other PMG Sites:

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential for the operation of the site, while others help us to improve this site and the user experience (tracking cookies). You can decide for yourself whether you want to allow cookies or not. Please note that if you reject them, you may not be able to use all the functionalities of the site.