Cloud vs. On-Premise Security: What’s Right For Your Business?

Cloud systems have been conjuring storms in the business world. Organizations have been rushing toward them because of low costs and flexibility, but misconceptions are common. The alternative is the good old on-premise software model.
Both these systems come with their unique sets of pros and cons. In this article, we’ll take you through the comparison between cloud and in-house systems to help you decide which model works the best for you.

Cloud-based systems are not set inside a company’s premises. So, as far as a company using cloud computing is concerned, cloud security involves technological and policy-based techniques to protect the information in the cloud-based systems. Both the cloud-servicer provider and the customer organization share the responsibility for it. If you opt for this approach, you will get lower costs and flexibility but won’t have complete control.

In contrast, on-premise systems are based inside the organization’s building. So, on-premise security involves the set of technologies and policies that protect the information in these systems. As you will have physical and digital infrastructure stored within the company building, you alone will be responsible for monitoring physical and digital security. This approach will offer you complete control but is expensive and inflexible.

There are specific key differences between cloud and on-premise systems which determine their use cases:

Data security in the cloud is the cloud service provider’s responsibility. Security is built-in, but any vulnerability in the Application can exacerbate security risks. Monitoring, auditing, and fixing security issues on the cloud is relatively straightforward as the systems are homogenous. Encryption safeguards the data, and you can opt for Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) and Keep Your Own Key (KYOK) key management systems for better control over security.

On-premise systems give you complete control over security, so you’re responsible for protecting your data by securing both the hardware and software. This requires skilled IT experts and advanced tools. Monitoring is not a straightforward process in this case: it consumes time and resources because of its complexity.

Cloud systems replicate data across multiple data centers. In case you lose your data, you’ll be able to recover it from a backup. This reduces any downtime the organization may have to face, facilitating business continuity greatly.
On-premise systems store data in one place, exacerbating data loss risks. If you do not make reliable backups on time, you may even lose your data permanently.

Cloud solutions are based on a pay-as-you-go model. As this is solely based on usage, there are no additional upfront costs that you have to pay for security or maintenance.

Installing on-premise systems requires costs for hardware, software licenses, access control systems, and building and paying specialized IT teams. You’ll also have to install HVAC systems to maintain temperature and airflow around the equipment.

Cloud platforms do not involve maintenance or updates on the user’s end. Consequently, the costs are relatively stable and only increase if you have to scale your usage up. For growing organizations, this cost goes up with time.

IT experts have to monitor, maintain, and update on-premise systems actively, and these operations are costly. You will be paying for software license renewals and power consumption as well. Costs can be unpredictable, significantly if the hardware gets damaged.

You only have to pay your service provider to scale up a cloud-based system. Scaling down is similarly straightforward, so no resources lay redundant or wasted. This scalability is instant.

In comparison, scaling an on-premise system requires installing additional infrastructure. The process is time-consuming and incurs more costs. If you later have to scale down, you’ll have excess capacity lying unused.

Cloud-based systems do not offer complete control, and so they can not be customized much. Certain vendors, like Microsoft, offer tailored solutions which come at high costs. You can use individual software solutions connected through APIs to lower costs and only pay for the features you’ll use.

On-premise systems have been built to cater to your organization’s exact needs from the beginning. You can always modify them, though often at a cost. So, they are highly customizable.

As cloud computing will require you to use third-party resources, tracking how the data is secured can prove challenging. Managing information security, network security, and regulatory compliance risks will involve continuously assessing your vendor’s system.

In contrast, you will know exactly how and where the data is secured in an on-premise system as you will maintain complete control. This is especially important if you operate in industries dealing with sensitive information, like healthcare or payment card industries. Having data in-house will let you ensure complete compliance with regulations on your terms.

Cloud systems can be accessed through existing devices and do not involve extra hardware to deploy. You won’t need a team of experts to maintain them either. This makes them highly resource-efficient.

The on-premise model is a resource-extensive one. You will require everything from considerable monetary and capital resources to a dedicated team of IT experts and have to purchase the necessary hardware.

The biggest argument in favor of in-house systems offer is that you control security. However, consequently, it will depend on the skills of your IT team and on the strength of your policies alone. Implementing security measures is costly, and employee carelessness can endanger the entire system.

On the other hand, cloud systems are maintained by experts who need to ensure data safety to sell their solutions successfully. Though cloud security breaches have occurred previously, advancements in cloud technology are now focal around data protection, with public cloud providers investing heavily in cloud safety.

So, as for the exact winner in the cloud vs. on-premise security debate: there isn’t any.

In this case, one solution isn’t necessarily better than the other. Whereas the cloud will offer you low costs, better accessibility, scalability, and prevent data, customizing it and ensuring compliance can be a challenge. On the other hand, on-premise systems may offer you complete control and customizability and let you ensure compliance. Still, they are costly and resource-extensive and come with a hefty set of responsibilities. We’ll maintain that cloud and on-premise systems are secure if proper protocols are followed. If you’re stuck making a decision, consider your finances and the amount of classified data you deal with. Keeping the latter in-house can let you ensure compliance, and your finances may allow you to adopt a hybrid approach to get the best of both worlds.

i.e.Smart Systems is a Houston, TX based technology integration partner that specializes in design and installation of audio/visual technology and structured cabling. For more than three decades, our team of in-house experts has partnered with business owners, architectural firms, general contractors, construction managers, real estate developers, and designers in the Houston market, to deliver reliable, scalable solutions that align with their unique goals.