The Dilemma : Cloud or On-premise Server Infrastructure
Which is better, cloud server infrastructure or on-premise ? This is a question asked by many IT Managers and business stakeholders. Cloud platforms have become so mainstream in the last few years with businesses taking advantage of the increased cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and data security they offer. As per a recent report, three out of five professionals think that the security breach risk is lower in cloud environments than on-premise. However, for cloud server infrastructure might not be as secure as people expect. Both on-premise and cloud environments may have equally shocking flaws. Opportunistic criminals know that a lot of businesses are shifting to the cloud—particularly big-scale businesses and government bodies—and that these are now high-value targets. Knowing their higher security, cybercriminals target cloud environments aggressively as they have become the main strategic features on the cyber and data warfare battlefield worldwide. This article talks about the dilemma between cloud versus on-premise security and how to ensure a striking balance.
Data is the lifeblood of businesses. The insight and intelligence it offers to the businesses becomes their competitive edge. Any doubts regarding security risks thus comes down to the security and control of a business’s data, whether in the cloud or on-premise.
So, it’s not surprising that in order to retain full control over the data, most big-scale businesses won’t adopt cloud. Using cloud typically results in a loss of data visibility, which many businesses believe is a substantial business risk. However, to maintain data visibility, most businesses adopt a hybrid model; some of their work is done on-premise, and another part of it, usually public-facing infrastructure, is done on the cloud.
Eventually, a decision is made that takes into account the data sensitivity as to whether hosting the data via cloud leads to less security risk than hosting the same on-premise.
Valuable data is given to businesses to make money. Doing so efficiently helps cloud providers map out all of the insecurities and securities within a business’s network. There’s a reason behind the low cost of cloud; hosting businesses are getting far more complex than just CPU cycles, energy, and power. Essentially, data is of value to any business and has to be safe; visibility is the key. Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.
Corporate networks have become more complicated than ever and contain both cloud and on-premise infrastructure components. Securing these networks and the data flowing across them requires an effective security infrastructure that is scalable to growth.
On-premise infrastructure must be robust enough and provide full visibility over a business’s data rates. Similarly, a virtual infrastructure is required that can be integrated with the cloud and scaled up or down as per a business’s changing demands, business expansion plans, and data rates in the future, all while offering full visibility over the data.
There is a balance to be struck between business and security. Technically, the cloud seems less secure than on-premise infrastructure. Criminals view the cloud as a high-value target and attack it more often, but its scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness are the factors that businesses want to achieve a competitive edge. On-premise infrastructure is costly, but it grants businesses more control over the data and provides added peace of mind for the physical security features.
The balance between the cloud and on-premise infrastructure must be personalised to a business’s requirements at any given time. It should accommodate the business’s risk appetite and its imperatives. Furthermore, improved standards for engineering and encryption are required on a global scale that is reinforced by the latest legislation; as such, technical and global collaboration are the needs of today.
To find out more about how Air Web Solutions can assess if your business will benefit from cloud infrastructure or on-premise infrastructure click here
February 26, 2023 
August 12, 2021 
August 12, 2021 
