Many organizations are considering the best infrastructure for deploying virtual apps and desktops. The choice is essentially between on-premises and cloud solutions, or a mix of both. Is on premises or cloud better than the other? On-premises virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) gives IT departments control over their environments — but requires daily maintenance and can be complicated to scale up. Cloud computing desktop as a service (DaaS) models reduce IT complexity and physical infrastructure costs.

Each infrastructure has its advantages and disadvantages. Determining which model is best for your business will depend on your company’s needs and a few other factors. In this post, we’ll look at some of the most important elements to consider when deciding between cloud computing vs. on premises.

On Premises vs. Cloud: Pros and Cons

On premises and cloud computing have clear differences and can be leveraged to fit the specific needs of your organization.

On premises  Cloud
Resources deployment  Resources are deployed in-house. Resources are deployed on a third-party server.
Cost Requires upfront investment. Most cloud providers use a pay-as-you-go model.
Scalability  The use of physical servers limits the scalability of this model. Scalability is one of the main advantages of cloud deployments. The cloud makes it easy to add more resources on demand.
Data security  Enables the organization to control all data and deploy preferred security restrictions. Control of data security is offloaded to the cloud provider with ability for organizations to add specific security policies.
Compliance Regulations often require regulated industries to keep data on-premises. Cloud providers keep the environment constantly updated with compliance regulations, especially data privacy.

What is an On-Premises Environment?

On premises refers to a computing model where data and software are stored and used on physical devices owned by the organization. The most common uses are datacenters, corporate servers, and networking systems. The term also refers to applications and software designed in-company for internal purposes.

Pros of On-Premises Environments

  • Infrastructure control: On-premises environments give organizations total control over their infrastructure. They can decide where the software and the data reside, who can access them, and what functions can be performed.
  • Security: Because you have all data and resources stored on hardware you own, it can give you more control. The IT team can provide, govern, and restrict access to hardware, software, and network resources.
  • Compliance: Some industries enforce stricter privacy and regulatory requirements that involve keeping the data on-premises.
  • Efficiency: The low latency to users close to the datacenter and the minimal external dependencies are some of the advantages of keeping an on-premises infrastructure.

Cons of On-Premises Environments

There are a few reasons why on-premises deployments are not for everyone. Consider these factors when deciding on your infrastructure:

  • Scalability: This is the major drawback of keeping an on-premises infrastructure for a growing organization. Every time you need to add a new resource, you must invest in new hardware, which takes time and increases costs. Adapting to sudden demands can be challenging with an on-premises infrastructure.
  • Infrastructure costs: Building an on-premises infrastructure involves high upfront costs and it can be difficult to predict the requirements. If you need more space, you have to balance the demand requirements with the cost of the extra server. If you overprovision, you’ll end up with underused capacity.
  • Maintenance: Your IT staff is responsible for all maintenance and updates — which can burden or overwhelm the team, with the resulting increased risk of mistakes and security gaps.
  • Security: While on premises will give you more control over the infrastructure and network, it’s more prone to human error and has a higher risk of security threats.
  • Reliability: Because your IT team needs to keep up with maintenance, there can be mistakes that affect reliability.

Explore the business value of DaaS solutions, and see how your organization can deliver workloads up to 4x faster with Citrix DaaS.

Use Cases for On-Premises Environments

An on-premises infrastructure can be the solution for several kinds of organizations. Consider these key use cases that may require or justify maintaining hardware.

  1. You have low uptime requirements: If your organization only requires a few servers and the largest pool of users come from the same location, having a local infrastructure makes sense cost-wise. Additionally, if you can bear a bit of downtime in the event of a power outage or maintenance, it can be financially smart to run the servers in a converted office instead of investing in generators.
  2. You have high-demand workloads: Organizations that rely on graphically intense desktop virtualization are common use cases to keep a datacenter on site. To ensure performance, many organizations prefer to keep the VDI servers and network devices on-premises and can leverage graphics cards for graphics-rich workloads. As mentioned previously, this ensures more control and prevents latency issues.
  3. Your organization has a large number of devices and tools connected via ethernet: Manufacturing companies, for example, have a lot of machine tools and instruments connected via ethernet cable. These machines require minimal latency to work well with local hardware and applications.

What is Cloud Computing?

In cloud computing the servers and data storage services are provided by another organization — the cloud provider. Organizations and cloud providers share responsibility for the maintenance and security of the cloud environment. The cloud providers usually take care of the infrastructure and storage maintenance and the organization is responsible for the management of the data and services they use.

There are three main types of cloud computing models, and most cloud providers offer a combination of the three. 

  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): You use the provider’s servers, virtual machines (VMs), storage, networks, and operating systems.
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS): The cloud vendor provides on-demand services for software development such as deployment, delivery, and testing applications.
  • Software as a Service (SaaS): The cloud vendor offers subscription-based services that clients can access via a web server. Updates and maintenance are typically covered as part of the cost.

There are often other technologies included in cloud computing environments:

  • Containers: Packets integrate all software component dependencies and run them isolated from the on-premises environment.
  • Serverless: This service offers application components to be used on demand, allowing users to reduce resources when not using the application.
  • Workloads: These are the applications, services, and resources that run in the cloud, including virtual machines and databases.

The Biggest Advantages of Cloud Computing vs. On-Premises Deployments

Moving to the cloud can be the right option for many organizations — it provides the flexibility needed to manage complex environments securely.

What are the pros of migrating to a cloud computing environment? Here are a few:

Cloud Solutions Enable Scalability

One of the top advantages of the cloud is the ease of provisioning. New resources and storage, for example, can be added in minutes instead of days or weeks. This flexibility enables organizations to quickly adapt to sudden changes in demand, scaling up or down according to their needs.

Cloud Computing Imparts Cost Savings

The cloud can be a more cost-effective option. For starters, there are no upfront infrastructure costs when you migrate to the cloud. Most cloud providers use a pay-as-you go pricing model. Because you pay only for the resources you use, instead of the resources you have, it eliminates idle equipment costs. Finally, you can plan the cost of your migration more accurately if you know you’ll only be charged for what you use. Here is a great calculator to help you start.

Cloud Solutions Simplify Systems Management

Cloud computing models abstract the computing, storage, and network layer from the hardware, which simplifies systems management —  including security tasks. Most cloud providers have strong security controls in place that administrators can use to control access and assess vulnerabilities.

Cloud Computing Improves Availability and Uptime

Another advantage of migrating to the cloud is the high availability. If your workloads and daily tasks require that you have no downtime, most cloud providers guarantee at least 99.9 percent uptime in their service agreements.

Security is Enhanced in the Cloud

Security in the cloud works under a shared responsibility model. Service providers take care of the security of the cloud resource while clients are responsible for the security in the cloud, for instance, controlling access to data, network, and storage.

Cloud providers usually have strict security controls in place for detecting vulnerabilities and protecting the infrastructure. It’s also easier to run patches and security updates in a cloud environment, including updating for new compliance regulations. This flexibility of the cloud is one of the reasons transitioning to the cloud can increase your security.

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Hybrid Cloud Solutions (For the Best of Both Worlds)

What happens if organizations want to reap the benefits of the cloud but require part of their resources to be on premises? Hybrid cloud environments deliver the best of both models. Using a hybrid cloud environment can help manage IT complexity by simplifying and accelerating migrations.

What are the benefits of implementing a hybrid cloud solution? Here are some examples:

Consistent Employee Experience with Hybrid Cloud

Employees these days need to manage dozens of tools to complete their tasks. An organization with an on-premises environment may have issues providing a consistent user experience across multiple devices. In hybrid environments, virtualized applications and desktops ensure users have the same experience over any network or device, regardless of where the backend infrastructure is hosted.

Hybrid Cloud Provides Comprehensive Security Policies

Organizations that leverage hybrid cloud solutions can reap the benefits of improved security that covers both their on-premises and multi-cloud environments. A well-established hybrid cloud solution can move the business-critical applications and data to the cloud and surround it with comprehensive security in a central location. At the same time, organizations in highly regulated industries have the added advantage of meeting the requirements for on-premises data and regulatory compliance.

Improved IT Management with Hybrid Cloud

As we mentioned before, the cloud part of the hybrid solution simplifies daily IT management. Apps and desktops can be hosted in the cloud or an on-premises hypervisor. Hybrid gives you the fast provisioning of the cloud with the seamless integration that enables you to manage workloads from on-premises to the cloud.

Hybrid Cloud Has the Ability to Leverage Existing Infrastructure

One of the reasons some organizations hesitate to migrate to the cloud is they have already invested heavily in on-premises infrastructure and want to continue using it to save costs. Hybrid deployments enable you to leverage your existing on-premises infrastructure, maximizing the ROI of both the hardware and the cloud.

How Citrix Solutions Empower Organizations to Adopt Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Environments

Citrix DaaS enables a better way to work, especially in hybrid and multi-cloud environments. With Citrix, organizations have the option to deploy app and desktop workloads from the cloud, on premises, or a mix of both. The Citrix hybrid multi-cloud model can cover an array of use cases. For example, it combines using application services from a public cloud with storage from a private cloud — while keeping the same functionalities in both environments.

Thinking of making a transition? If so, you may be wondering about some common misconceptions. Check out our guide to see the biggest benefits of cloud vs. on-premises deployments with Citrix.

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