The Digital Battle — Cloud vs On Premises

The cloud is here and adaptation is happening at a faster rate than ever, but is it the most secure and effective place to store data? For many workloads, the cloud is the obvious place to be.  On the latest Digital Battle, Craig Brown and Mark Pendergast reluctantly end up on the same side of the battle as they take a hard look at the pros and cons of storing data on the cloud versus on premises, including the workloads that are best suited for each option, which is most cost effective, and the benefits of standardization across the board.    On today’s podcast, you will learn: Mark’s opinion Mark’s vote starts out on premise.  The cloud is only applicable in certain circumstances, and is very use-case driven.  There are trade-offs with both, but on premise is more widely accepted.    Craig’s opinion According to Craig, cloud lets the innovator win.  Cloud enables faster innovation and offers the capabilities of a big corporation.  Security is continually enhanced, making cloud a safer option.  Cloud offers less investment with more capability.  Cost is less of a limiting factor with the cloud.   Factors that determine the correct strategy Tolerance for latency is a major factor with the cloud.  Data volumes impact cloud effectiveness.  Limited access points into the cloud stunt effectiveness, while hundreds of access points can reduce security.  Do files have to be moved, or is viewing the only necessary interaction?  Security and accessibility are the number one and two factors.    Which workloads belong in the cloud? The cloud is good for general purpose computing.  Generic video and sensory data is best in the cloud. Massively integrated data and intense simulations should remain on premise.  CAD and PLM are both starting to make an appearance in the cloud.  The more latency matters, the more the data needs to be on premises. Simulation is effectively moving to the cloud.    Increasing cloud adoption Regulations and standards need to increase.  Don’t assume cloud adoption is a good thing- learn about it.  Benchmarking needs to continue to prove the worth of the cloud.  Cloud auditing will prove that it delivers what it promises.  Cloud integration is essential for future adoption.    Continue the conversation with us within the Digital Enterprise Society Community at DigitalEnterpriseSociety.org.   Digital Download: Virtual Round-Table Series