There has always been an ongoing debate over On-Premise servers versus Cloud servers, and which among the two is better. In this article, we’ll explain everything you should know about it.

On-Premises Server

“On-prem” refers to a private server that companies house in their own facilities and maintain themselves. A company keeps all its data, servers, and everything in its IT environment in-house. The company is responsible for running, supporting, and maintaining the data all the time.

Cloud Server

When people speak of cloud servers, they’re most often referring to “traditional,” or “public,” cloud, a model in which a third-party service provider (i.e. Amazon Web Services, GoDaddy) makes computing resources available for consumption on an as-needed basis. Public cloud is a multi-tenant environment, meaning that these computing resources are shared by multiple individuals or companies, with all data secured by state-of-the-art encryption.

Now that you know about On-Premise Server and Cloud Server, let’s find out how they are different from each other.

Basis	On-Premises Server	Cloud Server
Cost	Advantage: It can be cheaper in the long run.	Advantage: Predictable subscription pricing. No upfront hardware/software cost.
	Disadvantage: Significant upfront hardware and software costs mean a mistake can be hugely expensive.	Disadvantage: Really need to project costs out over the long-term. Software licensing can mitigate hardware savings.
Security	Advantage: Organization in full control of the data locally. No third-party access to the data.	Advantage: Deliver superior data security.
	Disadvantage: Requires dedicated and knowledgeable resources. If an organization lacks appropriate expertise, it risks significant exposure.	Disadvantage: Data could be accessed by 3rd parties if login details are shared.
Agility and Scalability	Advantage: Physical control over the hardware means upgrades can be tightly controlled.	Advantage: Cloud resources can be rapidly adjusted to accommodate specific demands.
	Disadvantage: We need to plan well in advance to changes in demand because of the time necessary to research, justify, order, and deploy the hardware. It could be stuck with excess IT infrastructure which may or may not be able to be repurposed.	Disadvantage: Costs escalate when the cloud infrastructure is improperly managed and not properly tracked.
Resiliency	Advantage: Build out only the level of redundancy needed. Especially cost-effective when 99.999% up-time isn’t a concern.	Advantage: Much easier and in most cases more cost-effective when building out a multi-site/ geo-redundant server and storage.
	Disadvantage: Costly to properly build out when 99.999% is required.	Disadvantage: Outside your control – you’re at the cloud provider’s mercy.
Software Deployment	Advantage: Technology can be deployed based on unique IT infrastructure and application requirements.	Advantage: Software is quick to implement.
	Disadvantage: Complexity can mean lengthy and difficult deployments.	Disadvantage: Software is implemented to the lowest common denominator, limiting functionality.
IT Support	Advantage: Infrastructure and application expertise is readily available.	Advantage: The economies of scale inherent to cloud deployments mean that IT support can manage more with less time and effort.
	Disadvantage: Dedicated IT necessary, especially when applications are tailored to meet an organization’s unique requirements.	Disadvantage: The learning curve for the cloud is significant. Properly trained personnel are expensive.

Conclusion

Ultimately every organization will have to factor the pros and cons for themselves. There is no one size fits all for finding the perfect hosting solution since every organization has varying needs.

It’s clear that Cloud Servers provide greater control and security. However, not every organization can afford to deploy, maintain, and expand an On-Premise hosted solution. That’s where hosted Cloud solutions come in!

Although ACE is a SaaS platform, it’s flexible to meet your needs, whether you prefer hosting on your own Cloud server or On-Premise server.