Advantages of Using a Server
You control it.
You have complete decision-making power and control over the storage, including handling the operating system itself, keeping it up to date, potentially upgrading hardware, and deciding when to install server updates.
On the same point, a drawback of using a server is that you control it. Listed below are several of the downfalls of having to maintain your own server.
Disadvantages of Using a Server
Servers require physical space.
When considering using a server to store data, the first thing to think about is physical space. Most of the time when people are running server-based applications, they will have a closet somewhere in their office with computers in it. This could pose a problem if the closet is flooded, along with all equipment.
Servers require maintenance and routine effort.
The previous point raises the next concern, which is the responsibility of maintaining the server. If any damage were to happen to it, then you could potentially lose all your data.
Disaster recovery is an enormous challenge, and you can either decide to put a lot of effort into a backup plan or you can simply ignore it and hope for the best.
Servers are not cheap.
With disaster recovery, you can run backups to try to restore data, but there’s no cheap, easy answer. You either manually export data, or you pay a lot of money to have multiple servers and connectivity between them.
This means you have multiple locations to maintain to ensure that you have a fixed contingency plan.
Servers are not practical, especially for remote work.
If you’re a management company with a server, you must be going through some type of VPN client. This creates a new layer of complications because now you’re limited to pre-configured and approved devices.
The company needs to configure individual devices so its employees can access it remotely. Working remote isn’t impossible, but it means that you must manually set up a VPN on a number of personal devices. This is time-consuming because now it’s a managed process to have to set up every device. When you’re in a COVID-like scenario, this isn’t ideal.
Why Cloud Software Is Your Best Option
Security and flexibility are two critical traits that any data storage system should have. Both are served with cloud storage.
Cloud software is secure.
The reliability and safety that the cloud offers is unmatched. With the hosting in the application itself, you can set strong password policies to secure your data.
Also, it is important to distinguish the difference between application access and data access. The application is a publicly accessible website, but your database and processing servers are secured because your data is only open to certain IP addresses and has password protection.
Cloud software is flexible.
The cloud gives you flexibility that is impossible with a local server environment.
In a cloud environment, if you need more storage or power, you can click a few buttons and within minutes you’ll have it. The flexibility of being able to pay for only what you use and when you need it is not an option for local servers.
With a physical server, you can’t make temporary changes to the server capacity. If you need more storage, you need to purchase another server, which is expensive and inefficient.
Summary
We live in a digital world now, and we are reliant on technologically advanced software. Cloud-based software benefits association companies by offering them more cost savings, flexibility, and better security and reliability than servers. For these reasons alone, you should switch to a cloud software if you haven’t already.
Vantaca’s cloud-based software provides all these advantages and more. Read more about our software and how it can be used to dramatically increase your company’s back-office efficiencies by visiting our website.