One of the most important IT decisions companies have to make is where to run and host data center applications. Is it more cost-effective to run application workloads in an on-premises environment or in a public cloud?
The answer is different for every company, and it depends on several factors.

The data to be stored

Companies that want to store mission-critical information such as business records and customer emails could be better off with cloud servers as they operate in an environment that is less prone to disaster; modern cloud servers feature built-in redundancies to prevent businesses from losing access to their data. However, businesses shouldn’t assume the existence of these protections and should always ask about them from the hosting company.
As for items such as graphic files and common software that employees access frequently, storing them in optimized in-house IT servers is a better option, as businesses could find it time-consuming to frequently access such large files on the cloud (even though a company may be using an ultra-fast internet connection, it takes time to download these files from the cloud).

Security needs

The vulnerability of business data always demands careful consideration. Companies that are providing cloud solutions are able to utilize best-of-breed hardware from reliable industry providers to offer the highest level of security while still offering the flexibility to meet varying client requirements. At the hypervisor layer, reliable cloud solution provides rely on multiple hardening guidelines to prevent data leaks and ensure system availability as well as kernel module integrity.
Traditional on-premise software will always come second when it comes to IT, data and application security, as there are multiple costs including storage, buying of antivirus programs, and backup services. Businesses will have to choose different providers for different solutions; with the cloud, they get an all-in-one security solution with top-notch threat prevention technologies.

Scalability

When it comes to buying new servers to accommodate business expansion, companies are hit with an upfront cost in case of in-house servers. But with cloud hosting services, there is no electricity cost, the administration costs are reduced, and there’s no need for a noisy server room. Quick projects can be fired up in the cloud for an hour/day/month and then closed in an instance. The process of cloud adoption should be a no-brainer for a business looking for flexibility.
New businesses may not need to upgrade IT servers as they may take a few years to grow, so they can avoid paying the monthly hosting fees and opt for on-premises IT server equipment at an initial one-time cost. It could also be a better option compared to cloud plans that require companies to pay for per user access to additional data. If a business is already bearing the cost of an in-house IT team, paying for each member of the team to access data essentially means paying for the same thing twice.

Rounding it up

The overall perspective is that neither in-house servers nor cloud hosting represents the future of business IT. Cloud computing, like on-premise services, is another tool in the toolbox of IT management; it’s ideal to use in some cases, while not suitable for others. The key is to knowing which option to use in what instances, and choosing the right provider.