On-premises, in the cloud or hybrid?

The first question that companies ask us when it comes to a new and restructuring of their IT landscape is which deployment model is best suited for them. Classically in their own data center on-premises, outsourced in the cloud, or rather as a hybrid model? Well – it depends: What requirements you need to meet, how much capital you want to invest, and how flexible you want to remain in scaling your licensing and business models.

We present to you the different deployment models with their advantages and disadvantages.

On-Premises

If a company relies on an installation in its own IT environment for the licensing and usage model for server-based software or computer programs, this is referred to as on-premises usage. This means that the responsibility for operating and maintaining the software lies solely with the licensee. This has the advantage that the licensee has maximum control over all data and access. On-premises is the classic deployment model, but it is becoming less important in times of cloud computing and increasing flexibility of markets and business models. Nevertheless, it can have its advantages, especially for companies that have to meet high data protection requirements.

Advantages

• Maximum control over your data and access
• Compliance with European data protection requirements
• One-time costs for licensing software products
• Independence from external service providers and licensing vendors
• Access to applications guaranteed even without Internet
• Deep integration into your own infrastructure

Disadvantages

• High expenses for hardware, maintenance, and security
• High time and technical effort for updates and backups tie up resources
• Ongoing costs for software updates, support, and, if necessary, re-licensing
• Lack of support after update cycles expire
• Not flexibly scalable

Private Cloud

A private cloud can – but does not have to – be hosted in a company’s own data center. However, it differs from on-premises use in that the software is not permanently installed on the company’s own computers, but is obtained through cloud services in a rental model. Here, however, only your company must have access to the resources (servers, hardware, etc.) of the rented or self-hosted private cloud. Therefore, the private cloud combines the high security of an on-premises solution with the high scalability of a cloud solution.

Advantages

• Individually adaptable to your company
• Infrastructure capacities can be flexibly adapted
• High security
• Cloud features for high scalability

Disadvantages

• With own hosting, administration effort comparable to on-premise use of systems
• With third-party hosting usually more expensive than the public cloud

Public Cloud

With the public cloud, IT services are provided via the Internet. Companies can rent resources from this public cloud and run their applications on them. The cloud operator is responsible for management and maintenance. This has the advantage that companies can scale according to demand and thus operate their IT cost-efficiently. At the same time, they benefit from the security expertise of the cloud providers and do not have to worry about the security of their own systems independently.

Advantages

• Subscription service can be adapted as needed so that licenses can be scaled at any time
• Reduction of own hardware expenses
• Freeing up internal resources, as maintenance, support, and security of hardware components rests with the cloud provider

Disadvantages

• No free choice of provider, as not all enable DSGVO-compliant hosting.
• Connection via the public Internet opens up security risks in principle
• Accessibility or performance of cloud services can be limited by sharing the same physical machine with others

Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid cloud combines the advantages of on-premise or private cloud use and public cloud: companies decide here to run certain applications on their own computers, but outsource others to the public cloud to save costs. In this way, they have full control over sensitive data located in their own data center, while at the same time enjoying the highest scalability of public cloud use.

Advantages

• Flexibly scalable, adaptable according to demand
• Saves resources in maintenance and security
• Often less expensive than a pure public cloud
• Security for sensitive data and critical applications through the use of on-premise or private cloud structures.

Disadvantages

• Additional effort
• Security can only be guaranteed through clear rules

Which form of deployment you ultimately choose depends entirely on your individual needs. Our experts will be happy to advise you. Contact us here.