Advantages of Having a Cloud Server Rather Than Buying Your Own

Increasingly, business is moving from the physical servers of onsite data centers to the virtual servers of the public cloud.

• Away from On-Premises
• The Need for Change in Business
• 11 Advantages of Cloud Servers
• Switching Your Business to a Cloud Server

Away from On-Premises

The era of companies having their own data centers is quickly drawing to a close. As business increasingly finds its technological home in the cloud, IT departments are having to rapidly adjust. In fact, nearly 2 in 5 small businesses (37%) have completely transitioned to the cloud. There is a lot of growth ahead, though. According to a 2014 report from Intuit, 80% of businesses will be cloud-based by 2020.

There has been a recent trend in which businesses are shifting from capital expenses (CAPEX), the realm of an on-premises datacenter, to operating expenses (OPEX), the realm of public cloud computing. OPEX is the route that more and more companies choose – especially since month-to-month and even moment-to-moment agility has become so valuable to business. Plus, cloud allows you to cut your power usage by optimizing your server efficiency.

Unfortunately for those who make a living in IT departments at companies, the transition from on-premise to third-party provision has a high-profile precedent: electricity. Businesses used to have electricity departments with electrical architects – very similar to the IT departments of today. Eventually companies transitioned to using electricity from a third-party grid, just as they are now accessing the “IT fuel” of the cloud.

You can now create a virtual machine and deploy it in just a few clicks of your mouse. To set up a similar physical system at your location, you would need the hardware and software available to build and run your business. In contrast, when you set up a cloud system, you are essentially just customizing to meet your needs. The real work that you are doing is making those choices.

1. Peter Bruzzese of InfoWorld commented in 2014 that cloud was fast becoming the standard. “The shift to a full cloud-based infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) or platform-as-a-service (PaaS) model is imminent,” he said. “[U]ltimately there’ll be little on-premise IT left.”

Virtualization already had a major foothold in IT prior to the cloud. As cloud became more prominent, though, the cloud server model became the new business machine.

The Need for Change in Business

In order for companies to continue to stay competitive, they have to adapt as time passes. An example of someone not adapting is found in Thomas Edison actually. Edison used direct current (DC) and wasn’t open to alternating current (AC). AC was preferable, though, because it could use higher voltages and employ transformers to step down current for businesses and homes. Edison eventually failed his fight against alternating current, but only after throwing himself behind a propaganda campaign that included electrocuting animals to show that AC wasn’t safe.

“Once you see technology going in a direction that’s unstoppable, don’t get in the way or try to stem the tide,” explains Bruzzese. “Instead, get on board. The cloud train is here.”

11 Advantages of Cloud Servers

Beyond the benefits discussed above, what are some reasons that businesses are choosing virtual private cloud servers over using their own physical hardware? Businesses opt for virtual private servers because:

1. It’s cost-effective, argues Andre Lavoie in Entrepreneur. “For starters, cloud computing fully utilizes hardware,” he says. “Virtualization increases the value of physical server hardware, meaning businesses can do more with less.”
2. You don’t have to deal with the return merchandise authorization (RMA) process because you aren’t buying an actual piece of physical property.
3. You aren’t directly exposed to the possibility of broken parts or the issues of electronics: procurement, routine maintenance, and managing when components should be replaced.
4. There is no hassle.
5. It’s easier to work together. Everyone can collaborate on a single master file. Your employees can upload, edit, and comment – quickly integrating ideas and moving toward a final, stronger version. It’s also easier for managers to monitor progress.
6. It enhances your mobility. You can get into any work files from any location. This broad access to files is especially important since telecommuting and freelancing are becoming more commonplace. Both business owners and employees can access systems and complete assignments no matter where they are.
7. You can better integrate your business so that your business functions more smoothly and you can focus on your core competencies. “[B]usinesses can take advantage of specialized services that integrate with back-office operations, from human resources to marketing to accounting,” advises Lavoie. “These opportunities for integration give… owners more time to focus on the more critical areas of business.”
8. You don’t need a tech staff to maintain the equipment.
9. You don’t have to store servers at the office.
10. Your cooling and general power bill go down.
11. You are able to scale up and down as needed. There is no concern that you might purchase too much or too little infrastructural equipment.

Switching Your Business to a Cloud Server

Do you want to take advantage of all the benefits listed above and transition away from your legacy system? At Atlantic.Net, we offer pay-as-you-go plans with per-second billing for Private Cloud Hosting that’s up in 30 seconds. We even have a full catalog of one-click cloud hosted applications.

Cloud server hosting is only one of our many hosting offerings – we also offer dedicated hosting, managed hosting, and HIPAA-compliant cloud hosting.