Cloud vs Data Center

When storing and accessing large volumes of data for your company, cloud data services offer a more affordable option than building and maintaining a data center.

What exactly is a Cloud Storage Service?

A cloud storage service is an off-site data center alternative for your business. It makes your company's data accessible over the internet. In order to protect your data from failures and outages, the cloud provider often maintains and updates numerous data centers spread across multiple geographic locations.

• Integrated privacy, security, compliance, and dependability.
• Lower costs for hardware, IT upkeep, and operations.
• Improved cooperation and creativity through the most recent features and functionalities.
• From free to enterprise, there are flexible pricing options to match the size and budget cycles of your teams.
• A large portion of Atlassian's R&D expenditure.

What exactly is a Data Center?

A data center is a location where servers are kept up-to-date on business property and where local network users can store and retrieve data. An on-site data center is usually maintained by an internal IT department.

• Strong administrative controls will assist you in upholding compliance, security, and high performance in a self-managed environment.
• Can be installed on your own hardware or use IaaS, and can be set up as a single node or a cluster.
• Features for cleaning up data to help you optimize it for the cloud in the future

How to decide between a Data Center and a Cloud Storage Service?

The following three factors, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each storage solution, should be taken into account when choosing between building your own data center and using a cloud computing service.

Compare Scalability and Customizability

Companies that require a dedicated system to give them complete control over their data and hardware should consider a data centre. A data centre is better suited for an organization that manages complex workloads and a wide range of applications because this hardware infrastructure is exclusive to the company.

A data Centre's capacity is constrained, though. If your organization needs to increase the data Centre's workload and storage capacity, you are in charge of acquiring and installing new hardware as well as the newest technological advancements.

Depending on the features and service options offered by your vendor, the capacity of a cloud-hosted data system may be infinite. Having less control over the remotely located hardware is a drawback because the cloud vendor owns and operates the data centre system.

In addition, your organization will share hardware resources with other cloud users unless you pay to have a private cloud within the vendor's network.

Consider your Security Concerns

Entrusting its data to a third party is what happens when your company uses a cloud vendor. Keeping up with security certifications is the responsibility of the cloud provider. The appropriate cybersecurity measures are required at each of the data centers where your cloud is housed, if there are multiple of them.

Your cloud data is accessible from any location with an internet connection to anyone with the right login credentials. This is handy, but it also creates a lot of new access points, all of which need to be secured to guarantee the security of any data moving through them.

Your company's local network is physically connected to a data centre. This facilitates the process of limiting access to stored apps and data to only those with devices and credentials authorized by the company. But you are in charge of your personal safety.

Consider your Costs and Budget

It will take a long time, and your business will be in charge of system administration and maintenance if your company constructs a data centre from the ground up. A company may have to pay between $10 million and $25 million annually to operate a large data centre.

A cloud service is more economical, particularly for small businesses. Its setup and operation don't cost nearly as much money or time. Use of the cloud service is practically instantaneous after. The cloud provider should be able to scale your service up or down in response to changes in your company's data needs. To accommodate this, the majority of businesses offer a variety of subscription plans.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Cloud Storage

Although cloud storage offers many advantages, not every company or sector will find it suitable. The benefits and drawbacks of cloud storage are shown below.

When to consider the cloud

For most businesses, cloud products are the best option. Decide on Cloud to:

• Reduce your total cost of ownership by doing away with manual software upgrades and maintenance.
• Take advantage of real-time security updates and round-the-clock Atlassian expert support to ensure the security of your data.
• Facilitate international collaboration through products that are VPN-free and safe to use on mobile devices and browsers.
• Through ongoing functional enhancements, we can hasten digital transformation and foster business agility.

When to consider Data Center

By 2023, most of our customers will be able to use the cloud. The migration to a data centre is advised if, however, a business requirement keeps you from going cloud-based and isn't anticipated to be fulfilled by our cloud roadmap before then.

Your growth with Atlassian will be supported by Data Centre, which will remain a robust and efficient offering.

Select a data centre if:

• An additional regulatory standard that isn't listed on our cloud roadmap needs to be met by your service.
• The self-managed environment must contain your product data.

Benefits of Cloud Storage

These are a few benefits of cloud storage:

• Capacity: Depending on the features and service options offered by your vendor, the capacity of a cloud data storage system may be infinite. Just a few clicks will change your capacity plan as needed.
• A third party to handle security: When using a cloud vendor, your business will hand over its data to an outside party. You are not required to take full responsibility for data security. Up-to-date security certifications must be maintained by the cloud provider. Each data centre where your cloud is housed will require the appropriate security measures if it is spread across multiple locations.
• Access from anywhere: Your cloud data is accessible to anyone with the right login credentials from any location with an internet connection. If your authorized staff will be connecting via mobile, it's crucial to train them on remote cybersecurity best practices. Authorized staff members can access company data from their mobile devices.
• Low cost: Cloud storage services are very affordable, particularly for small businesses. A cloud provider can swiftly scale your service up or down in response to your company's expansion. A variety of subscription plans are provided by most companies to accommodate this.
• Simple data recovery: Cloud storage makes data recovery simple in the event that something was to happen to your local machines. You can use your internet connection to update files and download your most important media to any device because your data is kept in the cloud.

Drawbacks of Cloud Storage

Cloud storage has drawbacks, just like any other technology solution. Some of the drawbacks are as follows:

• Limited control: The absence of command over the distantly situated hardware is the main drawback of cloud storage. Any storage system customization options will be provided by the cloud provider.
• Dependency on internet connection: If you use cloud storage, a dependable business broadband internet connection is a prerequisite. Your company's operations will come to a complete stop if that internet service ever goes down.
• Internet security risks: Although utilizing cloud storage relieves you of the responsibility for managing network security, inadequate security measures remain a major worry. Cloud storage opens up a lot of access points that need to be secured in order to guarantee the security of the data transferred through them since it is web-based and allows access from anywhere. Regretfully, your data is vulnerable to cyberattacks as soon as it is accessible online.
• Concerns about compliance and regulations: Depending on the sector in which a business operates or where it is located, certain establishments need an on-site data centre to meet security standards that are not met by cloud services.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Data Centers

Similar to cloud storage options, data centres offer advantages and disadvantages.

Benefits of Data Centers

A few benefits of using a data centre are as follows:

• Full control: A data centre is the best option if you need a specialized system that allows you total command over the hardware and data of your business.
• Security: Your company local network is physically connected to a data centre. This facilitates the process of limiting access to stored apps and data to only those with devices and credentials authorized by the company.
• Enhanced productivity: A more efficient data centre may easily give staff members access to information that will enhance workflows and procedures, which will increase productivity for your company.
• No Internet requirement: There is not a need for an internet connection because using a data centre allows everyone on your team to access files via a local area network. Your team can continue working on tasks that don't require the internet, even in the event of an outage to your internet service, because they still have access to their files.

Drawbacks of Data Centers

There are also a few significant drawbacks to data centers:

• Data centres have a limited capacity, despite the fact that they have many advantages. If the storage and workload in the data centre need to be increased for your company, you are in charge of buying, setting up, and upgrading to new technology.
• Limited accessibility: The only way to access a data centre is through your company's network. In spite of the fact that an on-site data centre offers excellent corporate storage, you are stuck without access to information when you are not in the office.
• Total cost of ownership: Time and money must be spent when constructing and maintaining a data centre. $10 million to $25 million can be the annual cost of a large data centre for a business.

Key Distinctions between Data Centers and Clouds

Below are some of the most significant variations:

• The primary distinction between cloud computing and data centres is the local availability of applications, which users can access whenever they need to without requiring an internet connection. The applications are online when they are in the cloud, and access to them requires a network connection.
• In contrast to local repositories in data centres, data centres store their data in public repositories on the cloud. The developers in the data centre look after the cloud service providers, who look after the repository.
• To set up and keep up the repository, the data centre will require investment. It could seem difficult for startups and small businesses to get funding. Since clouds are subscription-based and easily affordable for businesses to deploy, no significant upfront costs are required.
• Bigger companies implement data centres. Startups and small businesses use cloud deployment. Due to limited funding and resources, businesses are forced to use cloud services provided by outside providers. Funding the repository and focusing resources is easier for organization's than taking a security risk.
• While restoring data or applications from data centres, organizations experience difficulty and regret because the process is time-consuming and results in incomplete data recovery. If something goes wrong, retrieving data from the cloud is not difficult. Data is stored across multiple distant servers and can be readily retrieved upon request, at minimum.
• Because the cloud's infrastructure can be expanded as needed, businesses that use it don't have to worry about paying for additional storage. However, expanding the local servers is required when additional storage is required in the data centre, which again requires a significant investment.
• The data centre is slower than the cloud. This is so that there won't be any noise when using the application because all the data is kept on separate servers. The organization's network and the volume of data kept on the servers determine the data Centre's speed.
• The company's software is updated via cloud computing in the same way that our applications are updated on mobile devices or systems. In a data centre, this does not happen on its own, so developers must take similar care.
• Larger businesses store the application internally because security is a concern. The outcome is the data center. Security cannot be provided as a benefit in the cloud, even though service providers do, because the applications are stored there (possibly in public).

Which is the best?

You might be in a better position to choose between a cloud-based and a traditional data centre after learning about both options. In actuality, though, everything depends on your company's needs, your financial situation, and the amount of data management experience you have. The cloud data centre is a better option if you have limited resources and need to manage all of your organization's data. It offers scalable and customizable services at a reasonable price. You should thus anticipate better and more affordable services. Alternatively, if money is not a concern, you could choose the traditional data centre, where internal knowledge takes care of your organization's data and ensures data backups and security.

Conclusion

In an organization, the Cloud can collaborate with the Data Centre to handle repetitive and less important tasks, while the Data Centre handles crucial assignments. Businesses should evaluate the advantages and options, as well as the computing method used in their organization.