Thoughts and ideas on people and technology.
October 21, 2024
What is “the cloud”? And more importantly, who cares? The term has been in use for years and is long past the point of being a buzzword, but it might become relevant again as we enter the next phase of the cycle.
The cloud (as we’ll define it) is any computer system, in part or in full, that runs in someone else’s facility. Facebook is in the cloud. Etsy is in the cloud. Your bank’s internal systems are probably not in the cloud; they run their systems “on-prem” (short for on-premises, or in their own facilities) for regulatory and security reasons.
But if on-prem is more secure, why would we use the cloud at all? Its mostly convenience and scaling. If you want a website its much easier to set up a Squarespace or GoDaddy account and use their building tools than it is to get an enterprise internet connection, buy a server, install and set up all the software needed, and make the website from scratch. Maintenance is also much easier. Ask any QuickBooks user about the convenience of QuickBooks Online vs Desktop. Also if your needs change, cloud providers will happily automatically bill you more for the increased usage, as apposed to needing to buy more or upgrade your equipment to handle the load.
If the cloud is so much easier, why use on-prem at all? And what was that you said about cycles? Accounting and human resources. (Not HR as in the department, but the actual human resources available to you.) In accounting, the cloud is considered a service and falls under OpEx (operating expenses), while on-prem equipment such as servers fall under CapEx (capital expenses). And eeeeeveryone has a different, and often very strong, opinion on which is better. On costs, they’re pretty similar if averaged over 5, 10, or 20+ years, but with on-prem the CapEx is mostly up-front, so that can scare people over to the easy monthly payments of the cloud. On-prem also usually requires access to more technical human resources. If you’re a small organization you probably don’t have dedicated I.T. staff or maybe even the budget to hire contractors. All of this leads to cycles between the cloud and on-prem being more popular.
That all sounds like a sales pitch for cloud, but I have a sales pitch for you for on-prem. And that sales pitch is sovereignty. What happens to your records if QuickBooks closes your account? Your social media presence if Facebook does the same? How will you access your money if your bank freezes your accounts? These types of hazards can be mitigated by using on-prem instead of the cloud. It gives you far more control over your data and services. You can also build your own “private cloud” if you want to, maintaining control but making your systems available away from your office or home.
Want to get ahead of the cycle and move some of your systems on-prem? You can find us at scalebright.ca.
©2024 ScaleBright Solutions Copyright All Right Reserved.