A More Viable Option for Businesses: Cloud Hosting or Dedicated Cloud Server Hosting?

Cloud and dedicated cloud server hosting are two of the most important IT services. They are both essential for businesses, but each has its own particular benefits and drawbacks. Understanding the differences between the two will help you pick the right service for your company at this moment in time. Let’s look at the pros and cons of cloud hosting vs dedicated server to see which is best suited to your business needs.

What is Cloud Hosting, and How Does Cloud Server Work?

Cloud hosting is the hosting of IT systems, software and data in a remote data centre. It allows organisations to outsource all or part of their IT infrastructure and associated data to a provider who typically offers virtualised technology. The provider delivers the service over the internet or an internal corporate network. Cloud hosting offers various benefits over conventional hosting, including lower cost, scalability and flexibility. Also, cloud hosting is more eco-friendly as data centres use less energy than conventional hosting and can be powered by renewable energy.

How Does Dedicated Server Work?

Dedicated Server Hosting allows you to host your own server on the provider’s premises and fully control it. You will get an IP address and root access, allowing you to install, manage and maintain any software you like. You can also install software that you don’t have the licence for, for example, open-source software, which is normally free. When you use dedicated cloud server hosting, you’re renting the whole server, so you can use any operating system, software, etc., that runs on that server. With dedicated cloud server hosting, a provider will typically deliver a single server to your premises, which you will have full control over. Dedicated servers can host websites, databases, email, FTP and more. They can run any software and are often used to run complex and resource-intensive software such as ERP, CRM and major eCommerce platforms.

Benefits of Cloud Hosting

• Affordable - Cloud hosting is significantly cheaper than dedicated server hosting. The investment you need to make to run a dedicated server can be thousands of dollars. Cloud hosting can be as low as $10 per month. That’s why many businesses use cloud hosting for their company websites, apps and databases.
• Scalability - Cloud hosting offers scalability, so if you need to scale up (i.e. increase the size of your server), you can do that seamlessly. This is very important when your business sees a sudden traffic spike. You don’t want your website to go down or be too slow because your server can’t handle the load. With cloud hosting, you can easily upgrade your server to ensure your business is always online and running smoothly. You can also easily downscale your cloud server if you don’t need all that processing power.
• Flexibility - Cloud hosting is super flexible, which helps you if you are running a software as a service (SAAS) business. You might have seen that many SAAS platforms offer an option to run your software on the cloud or your dedicated server. Using cloud hosting, you can quickly scale your server size as more people sign up for your service. If you need to push your product internationally, you can also move your entire business to another country without worrying about servers.

Drawbacks of Cloud Hosting

• Price - Cloud hosting is cheaper than dedicated server hosting, but the price difference will vary from one provider to another. On average, you can expect to pay about 50% less for cloud hosting than for dedicated server hosting.
• Scalability - Cloud hosting scales up quickly, but it can be difficult to scale down if you don’t want the extra processing power.
• Security - Cloud hosting providers keep your data in a central location, making it easier for hackers to break in. If an attacker managed to access one server, they could get access to all of the data on every server in the company. You might also find that your data is being sent to another country, which could be problematic if you are subject to strict data privacy laws in your country. If you’re concerned about privacy, you could use a private cloud hosting provider, where you control the servers. However, private cloud servers can be significantly more expensive.

Advantages of Dedicated Server Hosting

• Security - When you use a dedicated server, you have full control over everything. You can also install any software that runs on that server. You don’t have to worry about hackers, and you don’t have to worry that your data is being sent to another country. You also have more freedom to run your software any way you want.
• Flexibility - You can host your website, databases, email and any other software on your dedicated server. With dedicated server hosting, you own the server. This means you don’t have to worry about a sudden spike in traffic slowing down your website.
• Performance - You can install any software you want on your server and configure it exactly as you want. You won’t have to worry about others on your server slowing down your website.

Drawbacks of Dedicated Cloud Server Hosting

• Price - Dedicated server hosting is more expensive than cloud hosting. The investment you need to make to run a dedicated server can be thousands of dollars.
• Complexity - If you don’t know what you are doing, managing and maintaining your own dedicated server can be difficult, especially if you are running a SAAS business. You need to make sure that your server never goes down. You also have to ensure that your server has the correct amount of processing power, memory and storage space to properly manage your software.
• Data privacy - If you use a private dedicated server, your data is highly secure but can be sent to another country. You can request that it stay in your country, which will significantly increase the cost of using dedicated server hosting.

Key Takeaway

When choosing between cloud hosting and dedicated server hosting, you have to ask yourself whether you are ready to take on the responsibility of managing a server. If so, then a dedicated server hosting will give you complete control over your hosting environment. If not, then cloud hosting may be the best option for you.