On-Prem vs. Colocation vs. Cloud vs. Edge: Pros and Cons

In today's digital economy, technology has become an essential part of every business. Without a reliable network, it will be difficult for businesses to attract new customers and provide services to existing customers. When building a network system, organizations must decide on the type of infrastructure to use. This article compares the pros and cons of on-prem, hosted, cloud, and edge computing solutions.

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1. What is On-Premise IT Infrastructure?

Simply put, on-premise IT infrastructure means that the enterprise needs to maintain the infrastructure itself, including all the hardware required to run the network. The organization needs to manage every aspect of the network itself, whether it is a dedicated private data center or an ordinary server cabinet.

On-Prem Advantages and Disadvantages

About a third of companies using physical infrastructure rely solely on on-premise solutions.

advantage:

• Control: Keeping data, applications, and necessary infrastructure in-house means having complete control over every aspect of the deployment. IT departments don’t have to worry about anyone outside the organization changing configurations or inappropriately accessing data. They are not subject to price changes from third-party vendors.
• Compliance: Many organizations have complex compliance requirements that are too complex to delegate to a third party. By keeping everything in-house, they can continually monitor their compliance status to reduce risk.
• Compatibility: If your organization relies heavily on legacy hardware or applications, migration can be a serious problem. While it is possible to move legacy applications to a new environment, the process is often risky and can even jeopardize business operations.

shortcoming:

• Inefficiency: Most on-premise solutions are inefficient. Because building a private data center is very expensive, these facilities are often very old or converted from structures that were originally used for other purposes. This means that they are rarely optimized for the power and cooling needs of modern high-density servers, resulting in higher operating costs and the possibility of large expenditures if you want to make some updates.
• Inflexibility: An on-premises data solution is likely designed to handle the network demands required at the time, in other words, it is likely to be at capacity. This means that if demand increases or if new services need to be provided, new equipment or software will need to be provisioned and installed. This process can take a significant amount of time, and by the time the work is completed, the business opportunity may have been lost. Unless scalability is taken into account when the infrastructure is built, this can become a major issue as the business grows, stifling growth opportunities.
• Unreliable: In addition to being outdated, many on-premise solutions lack extensive backup systems to provide disaster recovery capabilities. In fact, if the system is running at maximum capacity without built-in redundancy, the system may be in danger of collapse. Without adequate backup, the network and services may suffer from frequent system downtime. Since on-premise data centers usually do not have 24x7x365 IT technicians, when a server goes down at 2:00 in the morning or on the weekend, it usually takes considerable time to resolve the problem. By the time the problem is resolved, customers may have been affected and their confidence in your company's reliability has been shaken.

2. What is managed IT infrastructure?

Data center colocation is a rapidly growing trend that allows companies to place their servers and other important IT hardware in a third-party facility that provides the necessary infrastructure for their systems. Customers retain control of their assets after they are moved, while the colocation provider is responsible for power, cooling, security, and connectivity.

Pros and Cons of Hosting

About two-thirds of companies that use physical infrastructure use colocation data centers exclusively, or in combination with some on-premise solution.

advantage:

• Reliability: The infrastructure of colocation data centers tends to be more robust. They have business redundancy and can keep their basic systems running even in the event of an emergency. High-quality colocation providers should guarantee no less than 100% uptime reliability through their SLAs.
• Versatility: Since colocation facilities are able to accommodate multiple tenants, expanding capacity is as simple as installing a new server in the rack. Unlike on-prem solutions, there is always enough power and cooling infrastructure to support additional growth. Cloud on-ramps also enable customers to expand into the cloud by building a hybrid IT environment that leverages the advantages of physical data centers as well as the vast capabilities of cloud computing. What's more, since the colocation provider manages the infrastructure, internal IT teams can be freed up to develop innovative products and services instead of being busy troubleshooting hardware issues.
• Efficiency: Modern colocation facilities keep up with the latest power and cooling systems in data centers, which can control costs more effectively. In addition to the huge cost savings of not having to build a data center, better optimization and energy efficiency can also save a lot of money.

shortcoming:

• Potential lack of visibility/control: Many hosting providers don’t provide customers with the tools they need to effectively monitor their deployments. As a result, companies may not be sure how much power and bandwidth they are using each month. Likewise, relying on a third party to perform maintenance can cause problems if performance issues arise.

3. What is cloud IT infrastructure?

Cloud computing has had a positive impact on many industries, allowing businesses to access computing infrastructure that was not available with on-premise solutions in the past few years. Although many hosting providers also offer virtual private cloud hosting, most people still think of public cloud providers first when talking about cloud computing.

Pros and Cons of the Cloud

While less than a quarter of companies use public cloud services exclusively for their infrastructure needs, 90 percent use cloud platforms to some extent.

advantage:

• Scalability: A key advantage of cloud computing is the ability to quickly scale computing power to meet capacity needs. This allows organizations to quickly add more processing and storage resources when needed, making it easier to adapt to changing market conditions and seize opportunities.
• Versatility: Today, nearly every type of software application is available as a cloud-based service. Cloud providers also offer development tools and environments that can be used to create and host new applications. Almost everything that can be done with traditional servers and networks can be done with cloud computing services, making it possible for companies that would not otherwise have the infrastructure resources to build their own solutions.
• Cost: Cloud services are usually billed monthly based on usage. Organizations can save huge costs by abandoning physical hardware and opting for pure cloud computing services.

shortcoming:

• Downtime: Most public cloud providers offer an uptime SLA of 99.99%, which translates to about one hour of downtime per year. This may not sound like a lot, but considering that most people tend to have a hard time accepting a failure when they try to access a service, for many companies this carries a huge risk of loss of revenue and reputation that is unacceptable.
• Transparency: Public cloud platforms are often very opaque when it comes to assessing resource utilization. This results in companies often using more resources than they expected, with overage charges appearing on their monthly bills. Because cloud platforms are managed by the provider, it is often impossible to understand what is being done on the infrastructure to ensure high uptime and operational efficiency.
• Security: Although public cloud platforms are more secure than most people expect, companies still have some issues managing their data. Public clouds may not meet the strict compliance requirements of every industry, and changes to the provider's infrastructure may have unexpected or unforeseen effects on data security.

4. What is edge computing infrastructure?

Edge computing is the newest entrant into the space. It functions in much the same way as cloud computing, with one notable exception. Instead of transmitting data back to a central server, edge computing relies on decentralized data centers, and when data comes in, it’s up to the nodes to determine whether the data needs to be sent back to a central server for processing, or processed directly where the data is coming in.

Advantages and disadvantages of edge computing

Edge computing shares the advantages of cloud computing, such as cost and scalability, but it also has some advantages of its own.

advantage:

• Speed: The biggest advantage of edge computing is speed. Since data is stored at the "edge" of the network rather than the "center", when the data is called, the retrieval speed is fast. If it can be processed on the edge server, the data does not need to be sent, reducing network latency, thereby improving the performance of applications or devices sending/retrieving data.
• Security: As mentioned above, security has always been a concern for cloud computing. However, since edge computing processes data at the edge and only part of the data is sent to the cloud, even if access to the cloud is hacked, only part of the data will be exposed, not all of it.
• Reliability: Because edge computing relies on micro data centers and the devices themselves (rather than central servers on the network), they are less likely to experience network issues and downtime.

shortcoming:

• Incomplete data: Without a doubt, the biggest advantage of edge computing is also its disadvantage. Because some data is processed locally instead of being sent back to a central server, the node must determine which data is important and which data can be discarded. Therefore, data that the business considers important may be lost in the process.
• Cost: Because edge computing relies on micro data centers, there is an initial cost to set up these centers, and maintenance costs can increase as the network is distributed across multiple locations.
• Maintenance: Similarly, because data centers are more widely distributed, in addition to centralized locations, more time and personnel are required to handle network maintenance and troubleshooting issues.

On-Prem vs. Hosted vs. Cloud vs. Edge: Which is Best for Your Needs?

Choosing the right data solution is a complex decision that depends largely on the organization's network and computing needs. Resources are often the most critical deciding factor. For example, enterprises with large IT budgets and complex compliance requirements may find on-premise solutions more feasible and attractive.

However, for small and medium-sized enterprises, hosting can provide the best performance and affordable costs. For companies whose applications require minimal latency, utilize the Internet of Things, or intend to use augmented reality as part of their future products, edge computing is a better choice. It is intricately related to 5G and is an important direction for future development. Therefore, when choosing, enterprises should consider their actual situation and make choices based on their own needs.

Original link: https://www.vxchnge.com/blog/pros-cons-on-prem-colocation-cloud