At some point in every custom software project, the question comes up: where will the software actually run? These days the default answer is the cloud, and usually that’s the right one. But it’s an architecture decision, not an automatic choice. The advantages are real; the marketing version of them just promises more than practice delivers.
We know both worlds: systems that run entirely in the cloud, systems on their own servers, and combinations of the two. In most projects the cloud wins the argument, but never without that argument actually being made. What’s left of the promised advantages once you hold them up against practice, and when do you choose something else?
The advantages that hold up in practice
The biggest advantage is that you don’t have to buy and maintain your own servers. Procurement, power supply, physical security and the replacement cycle sit with the cloud provider; you pay for what you use. A large upfront investment turns into a predictable monthly cost instead.
A cloud environment also grows with your organisation. More users, more storage or a peak in processing means adding capacity, not ordering new servers. Releasing new versions gets simpler too: we push a release live centrally and everyone works with it straight away, with nothing to install on individual workstations. And because backups and failover to a second data centre are standard provisions with serious providers, continuity is better arranged than with a single server in an office cupboard.
When on-premise or hybrid is the better choice
There are situations where the cloud loses out. Sometimes contracts or regulators require that data stays within your own walls, or you want to hold the encryption keys yourself. Sometimes the software sits literally next to the machinery it controls: on a factory floor every millisecond counts and the work has to continue if the internet connection drops. And under a heavy, constant and predictable load, your own hardware can work out cheaper over the years than renting from a cloud provider.
Often the answer then isn’t either-or but hybrid: a local part that runs close to the work floor, with a cloud part for reporting, integrations and access from outside. That’s not a compromise, but a design that lets each part run where it performs best.
The choice follows from questions, not preference
For us, choosing a hosting environment doesn’t start with technology, but with a handful of questions we answer together with you:
- What data does the system process, and where is it allowed to sit? GDPR has applied since 2018, and some sectors add their own rules on top.
- What does an hour of downtime cost, and who needs to be able to act when it happens?
- Which systems does the software need to connect to, and where do those run?
- How predictable is the load, now and in three years’ time?
- Who will manage the environment going forward, and what knowledge is in house for that?
In most projects the answers point towards the cloud, regularly towards hybrid, and occasionally towards fully self-managed. It resembles the choice between custom software and SaaS: it’s not the label that counts, but what fits your organisation and your data.
Facing this choice, or wondering whether your current system still runs in the right place? We develop custom applications including advice on the environment they run in, and that conversation starts with your question, not with a data centre.