With businesses looking to cut costs, many small to medium sized businesses are migrating data and operations to the cloud. As we know the cloud offers scalability, flexibility and speed that traditional on-premise systems often lack. In this blog we are going to explain what the difference is and help you to decide which is right for your business.

What Is On Premise?

On Premise or on-prem, is a computing model that consists of software downloaded to a physical device that a business owns. Many business owners are happy knowing that their data is located within your in-house servers.

What are the advantages?
- Since you only pay for your user license, you can have a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than the cloud.
- You have complete control of your data, hardware and software platforms.
- You do not rely on internet connectivity or external factors to access your software.

What are the disadvantages?
- It usually requires a large upfront cost and you need to include maintenance costs to ensure support.
- You are responsible for maintenance, this can be an issue for small businesses with a limited budget.
- On prem implementations take longer due to the time needed to complete installations on servers.

What Is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a model where another organisation owns the servers, storage, databases and software where they deliver them "as-a-service" to customers. Unlike on premise, a business will pay to use the services when they need them.

What are the advantages?
- The cloud is affordable, there is no up front cost!
- Because the cloud is hosted for you, you don't have to worry about maintaining your software or hardware.
- The cloud has a high level of security meaning your data is often safer than on your server.
- Cloud technologies provide a greater flexibility meaning you can easily scale to meet growing demand.
- Lower energy costs, when you move to the cloud you no longer have to pay to power on premise servers.

What are the disadvantages?
- Cloud solutions require a reliable internet connection.
- Long term costs, it can be more costly over the course of the system's life cycle.
- The cloud may not be able to cope with complex development, meaning it is less customisable.

Which Is Right For Your Business?

There is no definite answer to this question as every business is different and has different requirements. However, there are a number of questions that you should answer before you make a decision:

1. Can you afford the upfront cost of an on-premise solution?
2. Do you have the tools to ensure top level security if you are considering an onsite solution?
3. Is it important that you have access to the latest functionality and updates?