Considering upgrading your data centre? Is now the right time to move to the cloud?
As your business grows, your IT infrastructure clearly needs to keep up with the increasing demands placed on it. Your data centre is likely a vital component of this infrastructure, hosting your critical business applications, data, and services. However, with the rapid pace of advancements in cloud hosting infrastructure, could now be the time to consider moving some (or all) of your services to the cloud?
Where do on-site data centres shine?
On-site data centres have been the backbone of businesses for decades, providing a reliable and secure infrastructure to store and manage data. They offer several benefits, including:
- Full Control: With an on-site data centre, you have complete control over your IT infrastructure, from hardware to software. This allows you to tailor your infrastructure to meet your specific needs and requirements.
- Low Latency: On-site data centres provide extremely low latency, ensuring that critical applications and services run smoothly and efficiently – when the users are on-site! Don’t forget though that most of your users are likely working remotely much of the time.
- Regulatory Compliance: On-site data centres offer a simpler route to control your compliance with regulations such as HIPAA, PCI, and SOX. This is critical if you deal with sensitive data and need to ensure that their data is secure and compliant.
- Customisation: With an on-site data centre, you can customize your infrastructure to meet your unique needs. You can select the hardware and software that works best for your business, allowing you to optimise performance and productivity.
- Data Privacy: On-site data centres can provide enhanced data privacy and security, as the data is stored on your physical premises. This may reduce the risk of data breaches and ensure that your business retains full control over your data.
Overall, on-site data centres offer a robust and reliable IT infrastructure that you can rely on to manage and store your data securely. However, with the advancements in technology, businesses of all shapes and sizes are moving their IT infrastructure to the cloud due to the increased flexibility, saleability, security, and cost savings.
How do on-site data centres compare to cloud?
| Features | On-Site Data Centre | Cloud Hosting |
| Flexibility and Scalability | Limited | Highly Flexible and Scalable. Can scale up or down based on demand. |
| Cost Savings | Limited | Significant cost savings. Pay only for what you use. No upfront costs for hardware or software. |
| Data Security | Limited | Enhanced security measures. Regular backups and disaster recovery planning. |
| Regulatory Compliance | Requires manual effort | Automatically maintained regulatory compliance. We ensure relevant compliance. |
| Maintenance and Upgrades | Manual effort | Service provider maintains and upgrades hardware and software. |
| Technical Expertise | High | Moderate. We manage the infrastructur, reducing the need for in-house technical expertise. |
| Customization | High | Moderate. Cloud hosting may not offer the same level of customisation as an on-site data centre. |
| Reliability | High | High. We offer pre-defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs) ensuring uptime and reliability. |
| Accessibility | Limited | High. Accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. |
| Scalability | Limited | Highly Scalable. Can scale up or down based on demand. |
| Hardware and Software | Purchased and maintained by business | Managed by us. |
What are the main advantages of moving data & apps to the cloud?
Flexibility and Scalability
One of the most significant advantages of cloud computing is the flexibility and scalability it offers. With cloud computing, you can quickly and easily scale your IT infrastructure up or down based on your requirements, without the need for significant capital investments. This means that you can easily handle spikes in traffic or demand and only pay for the resources you need at any given time. Cloud platforms are also great for spinning up temporary resources for testing or evaluation, that will only be needed for a limited time.
Cost Savings
Cloud computing can also offer significant cost savings for your business. By moving to the cloud, you can avoid the upfront capital costs of purchasing your own hardware and software, and the ongoing maintenance costs. Instead, you pay for a subscription-based service, where you only pay for what you use. This model allows you to focus on your core competencies and frees up capital for other investments.
Improved Security
Another advantage of cloud computing is the improved security it offers. Cloud platforms typically have more robust security measures in place than individual businesses can provide. The teams that run the cloud platforms also have the expertise to implement and maintain these security measures, such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and encryption. Cloud providers also perform regular backups and disaster recovery planning, which can help you avoid costly downtime in the event of a security breach or disaster.
Ease of Management
Cloud computing can also simplify IT management for your business. With cloud computing, you no longer need to worry about maintaining your own hardware and software. Instead, you can rely on the cloud provider to manage and maintain your IT infrastructure. This allows you to focus on your core competencies and frees up IT resources to focus on more strategic initiatives.
Determining the Right Time to Upgrade Your Data Centre
There are several factors to consider when determining whether now is the right time to upgrade your data centre and move to the cloud. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Current Infrastructure Needs
The first thing to consider is your current infrastructure needs. Are you experiencing any pain points with your current infrastructure, such as performance issues, are you running out of resources or is lack of scalability an issue?
Budget
Budget is another important factor to consider. While cloud computing can offer significant cost savings, it may not be the most cost-effective option for every business. It is important to do a cost analysis and compare the costs of moving to the cloud versus maintaining your own infrastructure. This will help you determine whether moving to the cloud makes sense for your business financially. It’s highly recommended to take a free trial to fully understand how cloud could work for your business – and it’s wise to cap your monthly spend!
Data Security and Compliance Requirements
Data security and compliance requirements are another critical consideration when moving to the cloud. If your business deals with sensitive data, such as financial or healthcare data, you need to ensure that your cloud provider can meet your security and compliance needs. It is important to do your due diligence and choose a provider that has robust security measures in place and can meet your compliance requirements. Of course, Quadris Cloud is fully compliant with the stringent demands of many different industries.
Technical expertise
Finally, technical expertise is another factor to consider. Moving to the cloud requires a certain level of technical expertise, and you need to ensure that your IT staff has the necessary skills to manage and monitor your cloud infrastructure. If you don’t have the internal skills to manage this, it might be worth considering a fully managed cloud service, where your partner manages the transition of your apps and data and the ongoing maintenance of these systems.
In summary, the technical advances in cloud technology and the underlying comms infrastructure are increasingly making cloud a viable alternative to on-site data centres. We’re currently supporting clients who have moved all their systems and data to our Quadris Cloud platform and many that choose to move just a subset of systems. Whatever your choice, if you’re currently thinking about upgrading the kit in your data centre, it’s probably worth looking at cloud to see how that could help support your growth.
Sign-up now for your free 14-day trial of Quadris Cloud or contact us for more information.
