Cloud Computing: Build Your Own Or Outsource?

Cloud computing is a necessity of the modern world as more and more businesses require remote accessibility for their stored data and up-to-date, easy-to-use security solutions that any technical person with basic computer knowledge can operate.

In addition to the extremely useful ability to store data online and access it from around the world, cloud services also offer web-based applications, data synchronisation, and even cloud-based operating systems. All of these functionalities greatly optimise a business’ workflow.

Cloud Security Services and Risk Assessment

The problem, however, starts once a business decides to adopt cloud computing. Here, network managers and business owners must make a decision. Do they build a solution in-house, or outsource to one of the many professional cloud security services providers.

In this article, we’re going to discuss the benefits of each solution, and help you make a decision based on your organisational and personal requirements.

Why build your own

Just because everyone else in the industry is outsourcing their networks to cloud services providers doesn’t mean you need to as well.

There are plenty of great self-hosting solutions available in the market (such as Ubuntu Cloud) that will give you excellent functionality at surprisingly low costs.

Here are 3 reasons to host your own cloud:

1. Cost-effectiveness

Personal cloud hosting has a fairly steep requirement of initial investment, but you don’t need to pay excessive amounts of money once you’ve gotten that out of the way.

There will, of course, be a yearly fee that you’ll need to pay the host for their services, but it’s a very cost-effective solution if you have the money for the initial purchase. This will become even more evident once your business starts expanding. Since you’ve already paid for the entire thing, there won’t be any additional costs as long as the cloud’s limit isn’t reached.

2. Better security

With a personal cloud, you and your IT department are solely responsible for the security of the data. This is both a good thing and a bad thing depending on how competent your network manager is in the security department, but ultimately, it means that you have complete control over the visibility of confidential information.

If you’re not comfortable with the current level of security provided on your servers, we recommend that you get in touch with a professional consultant and ask them to conduct a security threat and risk assessment on your network.

This will give you a fairly good idea of where the vulnerabilities lie and which areas of data security need strengthening.

3. Customisability

With a third-party solution, you’ll be stuck with the services they can and cannot offer. If they can’t provide a certain kind of feature or functionality, you won’t be able to do much about it.

It’s important to remember that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions when it comes to cyber security. A service provider that works well for your business friend’s company might not be suited to your needs.

This is where in-house solutions truly shine. When you’re building a cloud, you’ll have complete flexibility to customise it however you like. It can be tailored to suit the current requirements of your organisation, and you can also leave room for future expansion.

Why outsource cloud services?

On the other side of the argument are outsourced solutions, which have become incredibly popular in the past few years. Outsourcing provides unmatched ease and convenience since someone else takes responsibility for managing the cloud. You simply need to pay them the monthly or yearly fee.

Here are 3 reasons to outsource:

1. Lower investment

Unlike in-house solutions, outsourcing doesn’t require any large initial investments. You’ll practically only need to pay the monthly or yearly fee your service provider charges for the life of the cloud. If you’d like to stop paying at any time, you can simply cancel the contract.

This is the wisest option for companies that can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars in a single go.

2. Specialised expertise

The biggest reason why companies choose to outsource to a third party is that they lack the required skills and expertise in-house to be able to build and effectively manage the cloud system.

When you outsource, you instantly gain access to the service provider’s extensive experience, resources, and expertise. Think of it as paying someone a small amount of money every month to give you the level of security that the likes of Google and Amazon enjoy. It’s too good a proposition to give up!

3. Constant uptime

One of the first things every cloud service provider will highlight during your Q&A sessions will be their reliable uptimes and customer support. It’ll sound like they’re giving far too much importance to the issue, but there’s a very good reason for that.

A huge reason why people shift their networks over to the cloud is for easy accessibility at any time. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world or which device you’re using. As long as you have the required login credentials, you’ll be able to access your data as easily as you would if it were stored directly on your computer.

Considering that, reliable uptime is of the utmost importance when it comes to cloud computing. That reliability is something that seldom comes with an in-house solution unless it’s been put together by experienced professionals.