If your server is reaching the end of its life, you may be facing the difficult decision of purchasing a new unit, or switching to cloud services. The cloud is a hot topic and one that you have likely considered, leaving you wondering if this would be beneficial to your business. Chances are you have also heard about the benefits of the cloud, such as more flexibility and how it saves on in-house IT costs, but before you make a decision there are a few more things to consider.
There are a number of small studies, expressing the profitability and how smart of an option the cloud offers for businesses. So now, are you ready to chuck out that old server and move to the cloud? Well, hold on just a second.
The fact is, when business owners that take the time to look into the actual cost of the cloud compared to replacing their old and outdated servers, the decision is clear: server replacement. As applications begin to run slower and you have gotten all you can out of your existing server, it is definitely time to make a move; consider carefully.
An example of the cost effectiveness of an in-house Industrial Rackmount Server is highlighted here. If you have 10 people in your company that need computer access, and you employ a local IT service for moving your business to the cloud, at $100 per month, per person, that equates to $24,000 each year to integrate and use the cloud based service. Now consider how many servers you could purchase for that much. If you are a profit generating small business owner, which looks hard at an investment decision prior to parting with your cash – there is no question that replacing your server is the right option.
When it comes down to it, smart business owners know that there is no justification or return on investment for moving to the cloud. Keep in mind, this is true for established businesses that do not want to pay for the expense of switching their existing applications.
The fact is that servers offer our business the ability to host databases, mail and print serving, document sharing and central file repository and system wide backups. If you are starting out with a server for your small business, generally a tower server will be sufficient, which is also beneficial since they do not require their own server room. However, as your business grows and you need to run more demanding applications, industrial rack servers are the ideal option, with high levels of functionality and flexibility.