|
Prospering organisations and businesses come to a crossroad as they grow. As the pressures on their IT infrastructures and services increase, most small and medium business (SMB) are faced with the choice of hosting these services in-house or looking outside the organisation to have the job done for them. What are the options for small and medium sized businesses?
Benefits of using software in-house
- Total manageability and visibility over data and infrastructure
- Processes remain in-house and secure
- Software can be configured to suit company's needs
- No 3rd party handling of data
- Only authorized people have access –– need to know basis
- Less costly long term despite initial expense
Downside of using software in-house
- Multiple packages can be a headache to maintain and update
- IT personnel required to maintain network and services
- Some systems require in-depth technical knowledge
- In the absence of IT personnel, cost of external IT support comes into play
Benefits of hosted services
- A hosted service provider can achieve economies of scale for the larger companies experiencing rapid growth but with lower capital risks
- Providers operate multiple data centers that are physically secure
- Companies can utilize the features and functionality of best-of-breed services
- Hosting provider can reduce compliancy costs for companies
- Pay-as-you-go pricing for these services.
- Convenience of someone else managing the processes
- Unnecessary network traffic is eliminated
Downside of hosted services
- Loss of local control over critical infrastructure
- Delivery reliability because the service provider is another "hop" in the chain
- All data is in the hands of 3rd parties creating a possible security risk
- Even though data may be secure, the human element cannot be ignored
- Inability to take decisions and implement immediately
- Long-term cost may prove more expensive than purchasing a software solution
- Lock-in – once you start putting your data in other people's hands it's hard to get it out and put it somewhere else without major time and effort.
While the hosted services and software as a service (SaaS) are gaining ground among large enterprise seeking to lower costs, offshoot their IT workload and match the growth of the sector without having to change their infrastructure, SMBs will find hosted services to be an unnecessary expense. SMBs, even with minimal IT personnel, should be able to manage their networks and business using in-house hosting of services. Return on Investment (ROI) will depend on company size, volume of work and expected growth. For many SMBs, their growth rate will not be sufficient to merit outsourcing their IT requirements.
Find out about Software vs. Appliances |
|
|
Products