Cloud vs On-Premise Infrastructure

A comprehensive comparison to help you make the right infrastructure decision for your business.

Cloud is Best For:

Growing businesses that need flexibility
Remote/hybrid workforces
Organizations wanting predictable costs
Companies without dedicated IT staff
Businesses requiring high availability

On-Premise is Best For:

Strict data sovereignty requirements
Highly customized applications
Environments with limited internet
Specific compliance mandates
High-performance computing needs

Detailed Comparison

Compare cloud and on-premise across key decision factors.

Factor

Cloud

On-Premise

Upfront Costs

Low

Pay-as-you-go pricing, no hardware purchase

High

$50K-$500K+ for servers, storage, networking

Ongoing Costs

Predictable

Monthly subscription based on usage

Variable

Maintenance, power, cooling, staffing

Scalability

Instant

Scale up or down in minutes

Weeks-Months

Hardware procurement and setup required

Data Control

Shared

Data stored on provider infrastructure

Complete

Full control over data location and access

Compliance

Provider-Dependent

Must verify provider certifications

Self-Managed

Direct control over compliance implementation

Disaster Recovery

Built-In

Geographic redundancy included in most plans

Additional Cost

Requires separate DR site and infrastructure

Maintenance

Provider-Managed

Updates, patches, and hardware handled by provider

Self-Managed

Requires dedicated IT staff or MSP

Performance

Variable

Dependent on internet connection and provider

Consistent

Direct LAN access, no internet dependency

Security

Enterprise-Grade

Provider security teams and certifications

Self-Managed

Only as good as your security implementation

Customization

Limited

Constrained by provider offerings

Unlimited

Complete control over hardware and software

5-Year Cost Comparison

Cloud (50 Users)

Monthly subscription$5,000/mo

Setup & migration$15,000

Managed servicesIncluded

5-Year Total$315,000

On-Premise (50 Users)

Hardware purchase$75,000

Software licensing$50,000

IT staffing (5 years)$375,000

Maintenance & refresh$40,000

5-Year Total$540,000

*Estimates based on typical SMB deployments. Actual costs vary by requirements.

The Hybrid Approach

Many businesses find that a hybrid approach offers the best of both worlds. Keep sensitive data on-premise while leveraging cloud for scalability, disaster recovery, and remote access.

Discuss Your Options

Related Comparisons

Managed IT vs Break-Fix

Proactive vs reactive IT support

Techvera vs In-House IT

MSP vs internal IT team

Techvera vs Other MSPs

What makes us different

Need Help Deciding?

Our experts can assess your needs and recommend the right infrastructure approach.

Get Expert Advice Calculate TCO

Cloud vs On-Premise Infrastructure

A comprehensive comparison to help you make the right infrastructure decision for your business.

Cloud is Best For:

Growing businesses that need flexibility
Remote/hybrid workforces
Organizations wanting predictable costs
Companies without dedicated IT staff
Businesses requiring high availability

On-Premise is Best For:

Strict data sovereignty requirements
Highly customized applications
Environments with limited internet
Specific compliance mandates
High-performance computing needs

Detailed Comparison

Compare cloud and on-premise across key decision factors.

Factor

Cloud

On-Premise

Upfront Costs

Low

Pay-as-you-go pricing, no hardware purchase

High

$50K-$500K+ for servers, storage, networking

Ongoing Costs

Predictable

Monthly subscription based on usage

Variable

Maintenance, power, cooling, staffing

Scalability

Instant

Scale up or down in minutes

Weeks-Months

Hardware procurement and setup required

Data Control

Shared

Data stored on provider infrastructure

Complete

Full control over data location and access

Compliance

Provider-Dependent

Must verify provider certifications

Self-Managed

Direct control over compliance implementation

Disaster Recovery

Built-In

Geographic redundancy included in most plans

Additional Cost

Requires separate DR site and infrastructure

Maintenance

Provider-Managed

Updates, patches, and hardware handled by provider

Self-Managed

Requires dedicated IT staff or MSP

Performance

Variable

Dependent on internet connection and provider

Consistent

Direct LAN access, no internet dependency

Security

Enterprise-Grade

Provider security teams and certifications

Self-Managed

Only as good as your security implementation

Customization

Limited

Constrained by provider offerings

Unlimited

Complete control over hardware and software

5-Year Cost Comparison

Cloud (50 Users)

Monthly subscription$5,000/mo

Setup & migration$15,000

Managed servicesIncluded

5-Year Total$315,000

On-Premise (50 Users)

Hardware purchase$75,000

Software licensing$50,000

IT staffing (5 years)$375,000

Maintenance & refresh$40,000

5-Year Total$540,000

*Estimates based on typical SMB deployments. Actual costs vary by requirements.

The Hybrid Approach

Many businesses find that a hybrid approach offers the best of both worlds. Keep sensitive data on-premise while leveraging cloud for scalability, disaster recovery, and remote access.

Discuss Your Options

Related Comparisons

Managed IT vs Break-Fix

Proactive vs reactive IT support

Techvera vs In-House IT

MSP vs internal IT team

Techvera vs Other MSPs

What makes us different

Need Help Deciding?

Our experts can assess your needs and recommend the right infrastructure approach.

Get Expert Advice Calculate TCO

Techvera Support

Cloud vs On-Premise Infrastructure

Cloud is Best For:

On-Premise is Best For:

Detailed Comparison

5-Year Cost Comparison

Cloud (50 Users)

On-Premise (50 Users)

The Hybrid Approach

Related Comparisons

Managed IT vs Break-Fix

Techvera vs In-House IT

Techvera vs Other MSPs

Need Help Deciding?

Cloud vs On-Premise Infrastructure

Cloud is Best For:

On-Premise is Best For:

Detailed Comparison

5-Year Cost Comparison

Cloud (50 Users)

On-Premise (50 Users)

The Hybrid Approach

Related Comparisons

Managed IT vs Break-Fix

Techvera vs In-House IT

Techvera vs Other MSPs

Need Help Deciding?