Top 10: Benefits of On-Prem

An on-premises data centre, known as ‘on-prem’, is a physical infrastructure, where servers, storage, networking equipment and any additional hardware, are managed, within the premises of an organisation. These data centres are owned and operated by the organisation itself, offering the business total control over the IT environment and their data.

Compared to storing data on the cloud, on-prem offers full control and customisation, but needs investment and continuous management. 

Here are the Top 10 advantages of on-prem data centres.

10. Total control and ownership

The first benefit is the most obvious - total ownership of your data and the data centre it is stored in just feels safer and makes good business sense. Owning an on-prem data centre allows businesses to continue to guzzle their data, while enjoying complete control over that data, the infrastructure and its data centre operations. This freedom allows companies to configure their own hardware, their software and networks according to their specific needs and not having to deal with third-party providers saves time.

9. Data security and privacy

With a new cyber attack making the headlines every week, data centres have security at the front of their minds and are doing everything they can to ensure that their data is protected, internally and externally. 

Through on-prem data centres, all data - from the sensitive to the mundane - is kept within the businesses own systems. The risks linked to data breaches and unauthorised access are reduced and kept in line with that businesses own security protocols and privacy measures.

8. Regulatory compliance

Following on from security, some businesses have strict regulations for data privacy and location based on the geographic location that they operate in. For data centres with facilities across the world, these rules may change. Through using on-prem infrastructure, it can be easier to comply with differing local regulations. 

For some industries, like healthcare, there are tight rules for data privacy and storage. By using on-prem data centres, it is easier to follow these regulations and ensure that sensitive data is stored and processed in accordance with legal requirements.

7. Physical control

On the back of data security, many companies just feel more comfortable having physical control over their data centre - and everything inside of it. On-prem data centres offer that peace of mind over the full physical control of both hardware and facilities, allowing companies to directly manage their physical security, environmental conditions and maintenance. In addition, when any problems arise, instead of waiting by the phone for a call back, you can walk straight over to see the data centre and get to work fixing any problems. 

6. Lower long-term costs

The infrastructure costs of a data centre include cabling, equipment and the connectivity costs of the network infrastructure. As well as internet security, there are costs to cover the physical security of the building. Additional costs go into the power and the cooling of the centre and a company may wish to invest in sustainable initiatives to lower their emissions. 

While upfront costs are high, in the long run, this can be the less expensive option, over using the cloud. Data centres can avoid ongoing service fees and the total cost of ownership will be met over time. 

5. Existing investments

In a similar vein, many data centres organisations have already invested in their on-prem infrastructure. While they may see the glittering benefits of cloud computing, such as external providers managing flexible scaling and cybersecurity, if a company has already made their investments in on-prem infrastructure, there will be a strong focus on maximising their return in this.

However, when the company reaches their data peak, they will have to expand their existing infrastructure or look into hybrid solutions, which will require additional investments. 

4. Legacy applications

On-prem data centre legacy applications refer to software systems that have been in use for quite a long time across an organisation. These are usually based on older technologies and architectures. Such applications may have been acquired from third-party vendors or even developed internally. Regardless of their age, such legacy applications are a critical part of an organisation's operations. These applications may not be easily moved over to the cloud and simply perform better in an on-prem environment.

3. Network dependence

On-prem network dependence relates to the reliance of a data centre’s IT infrastructure on its local network for:

• Components which rely on the network to communicate with each other and exchange data.
• Applications, databases and other resources which are hosted in the on-prem data centre through the local network and used by employees.
• Data transfer within the on-premises infrastructure, such as backups and synchronisation between servers.

2. Customisation and performance

What makes one data centre unique from another? For data centres with special policies on-prem facilities can be customised for that businesses specific needs. For example, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, attracts three million visitors a year. The increase in online traffic and data-driven solutions from tourists means that the site requires a data centre structure with a high degree of reliability and flexibility. It was these challenges that led the Sagrada Familia to invest in its own on-prem, tailor-made data centre.

“The reason why we added a data centre to the site was, mainly, to gain the capacity to manage a big amount of data, which required us to avoid the latency as a factor of risk in the efficiency and availability of services such as video surveillance, design, engineering and ticketing,” Fernando Villa, the CIO of the Sagrada Familia, told Mobile magazine.

1. Edge computing

In contrast to traditional cloud computing, which centralises data processing in remote data centres, edge computing distributes computing resources closer to the data sources, or "edges" of the network. This then offers several advantages, including: 

• Reduced latency - edge computing processes data locally, which is critical for real-time applications like autonomous vehicles or industrial automation.
• As data is processed locally, edge computing reduces the amount of data that needs to be transmitted to centralised data centres, saving bandwidth.
• As with some of the benefits outlined earlier, edge computing provides organisations with complete control over their on-premises data centres, from security to maintenance to compliance with local regulations. 

On-prem data centres provide controlled environments which are centralised and offer high-capacity for computing and data storage. Edge computing brings computational power closer to the data source, which creates an IT infrastructure that is both sturdy and stable.

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