Deciding to move your data centre to the cloud is a balancing act of weighing cost, security, and efficiency issues. For some, there is no choice: the physical conditions that challenge their existing data centres leave no other option but to move to the cloud. For others, moving to the cloud clearly presents an opportunity for greater efficiency and preservation of capital. So how do you weigh the pros versus the cons? Here are four common situations many organizations face that indicate the cloud is a more viable option than their onsite data centre.
Move to the cloud if:
1. You Have Limitations On Physical Space
The growing organization needs to continue expanding its IT facilities. But there comes a time for many small- and medium-sized businesses when they simply run out of space for new servers or other IT equipment, and there are no more walls to knock down to create new space. Given the cost of square footage, especially in locations with a high business density, it is more productive to use prime real estate to accommodate people rather than server racks. If there’s a lack of space in your offices, the limitless virtual space of the cloud can be a huge advantage.
2. You’re Concerned About Monitoring Computer Rooms
There are often five different monitors that track the proper conditions for a computer room: temperature, humidity, security access, power, and the presence of water on the floor. The failure of any one of these monitors could result in significant losses of data, operating time, or revenue. For instance, should the air conditioners or chillers suddenly fail, computers can heat up quickly and catastrophically: e.g. when some circuits fry in an overheated computer, they may cause unpredictable, random failures in the future.
Devoting resources to monitor conditions can be costly – often with less than ideal results. For many organizations, moving to the cloud is not only more cost-effective in this regard, but also more reliable.
3. Your Building Location Creates Unnecessary Exposure To Risk
The physical location of an organization’s operations can create serious risks to its in-house data centre. Data centres prefer nice, calm, continuous levels of power, communications infrastructure access, and environmental conditioning. Organizations may suddenly find their building (or floor) in a construction zone, whether it involves new buildings being erected nearby, or roads, bridges, and other urban infrastructure being replaced. Proximity to construction or renovations can wreak havoc on any data centre, exposing it to the risks of power spikes or outages, unstable water infrastructure, or loss of communication capabilities.
If your organization is in a construction zone or is scheduled to be in a long-term construction zone, it is wise to consider shifting your data centre to the cloud.
4. You Lack The Capital To Invest In Or Expand Your Data Centre
If your organization needs to improve or expand its data centre, but lacks the resources to implement the changes, then obviously it’s time to consider cloud computing. Rather like renting as an economical alternative to owning, the cloud allows you to expand your “virtual” data centre on a flexible, monthly operational expense basis.
For many organizations, capital availability is the deciding factor to move to the cloud. As the cost-competitiveness of cloud computing continues to drop, it makes it far more economical to “rent” data centre infrastructure than it is to sink money into a hardware investment that depreciates quickly or grows obsolete over time. But beyond cost, there are other common situations that make the cloud the winning alternative: particularly if your data centre is at risk and your ability to monitor it is limited. Because of its dedicated security, cost efficiency, and flexible expansion options, more often than not, the cloud can be a handy option to an on-site data centre (or DR site).
