Companies have to make many decisions every day, and some can be very detailed. For example, when it comes to technology, they may need to figure out whether to host business applications on-premises or in the cloud.
In a recent Tech Target (News - Alert) article, some guidelines were offered on where to host these apps. They are based on responses from the advisory board of SearchDataCenter.
For instance, Clive Longbottom, a founder of Quocirca, points out that if a business gets nervous about risk and is skeptical about public clouds, it may want to opt for an on-premises data center. But those companies less concerned about risk may want to use the cloud.
Ian McVey, director of the enterprise and systems integrators segments at Interxion (News - Alert), says “Hosting choices highly depend on the role of the business application and its connection to legacy systems.
An app that requires minimal connection to data residing in legacy on-premises systems can develop natively in the cloud,” he added. “A highly scaled and utilized application is better built on-site.” On the other hand, a new business that has a pilot market may belong in the cloud, McVey said.
When considering the question of the cloud or on-premises hosting, Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corporation (News - Alert), said to consider size. “Generally, big IT shops find it cheaper to host new business applications in-house in existing data center space rather than adding colocation space or hosting apps on cloud infrastructure,” he said. The kinds of factors which may impact the decision include: on-premises space, on-premises power, and cost to manage the application.
Tech writer Stephen J. Bigelow suggests that when considering the hosting of mission-critical apps, where security concerns are important, “keeping the app on-premises or in a private cloud often justifies compliance control and the cost to do it yourself. If the business application is non-critical and low-risk, consider a public cloud deployment vs. on-prem.” He also suggests finding out if there is a less-expensive Software as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) version of the app.
And Carrie Higbie, a global director, data center solutions and services, and founder of World Wide Wishes for Wellness, advises looking at such factors as uptime, customization, usage periods, in-house talent, and capital and operating expenses.
“If you're looking at cloud applications, be aware that most cloud services don't offer 99.995 percent uptime, and service-level agreements are best effort,” she said.
Remember, too, to find out whether a cloud provider is secure, reliable and how long they have been in business. Internal software can be customized more than many cloud-based applications, she added.
As businesses consider whether to go on premises or in the cloud, remember the offerings from UNICOM (News - Alert) Engineering, a subsidiary of UNICOM Global. Its products and business solutions help companies resolve deployment issues. UNICOM Engineering offers application deployment solutions that make its customers more competitive in the current marketplace.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson