Cloud computing is slowly becoming a part of our lives – both on consumer and business sides. We live in a period where virtual connections and meetings backed by the cloud are more prevalent than the traditional work environment. Businesses have opted to implement remote working, while employees do their best to make it work on both professional and personal fronts. In between all this, there is one aspect that serves as a hindrance for many businesses towards cloud transformation – choosing between shared or dedicated cloud hosting solutions.
Within the new paradigm of cloud hosting, setting up a dedicated server does not take much time as in the past. Also, dedicated cloud solutions help keep up the hosted software and data accessible all the time without fail. Understanding what cloud hosting means is essential before deciding to select from shared hosting or dedicated hosting solutions. To help you in making the right decision, let’s start from the basics.
How Does Dedicated Cloud Server Work?
Dedicated cloud hosting utilizes a third-party server to host data/applications and make them accessible remotely. At this stage, it is essential to compare it with shared cloud hosting. A simple analogy is that of a standard guest room with all the resources and stuff to be used by visitors. The more visitors this room has, the lesser resources each one would be able to use at a specific time. In some instances, one visitor may also have to compromise on stuff already in use by someone else, and there is no way out.
The main advantage of selecting dedicated cloud hosting solutions over shared alternatives is for a business to utilize the computing resources maximally without sharing them with others. This way, one can also avoid performance issues which are quite common with shared hosting services. Many dedicated hosting plans are available with the ‘pay as you use’ model rather than fixed billing rates. This allows you to scale the cloud resources as needed over time. On the other hand, many shared hosting solution providers do not support custom server requirements, making dedicated servers the last option remaining for many businesses.
If you and your team require more control over server usage, it would be best to go for dedicated cloud hosting solutions. This way, you can allocate more virtual RAM and CPU to various business-related tasks while also getting the flexibility to scale these resources up or down as needed.
Advantages of Dedicated Cloud Hosting Solutions
1. Control Over Customization
Dedicated cloud hosting solutions give you the ability to personalize the servers as per your business needs. This is an option that does not come with shared cloud services. The extent of customization may vary from one cloud service provider to another, depending on their service clauses.
Although a dedicated server is a better alternative to a shared server, it is costlier too. Hence, it would be best to look into the choice from the budget point of view. Choose what you can afford and then gradually switch to the better possibility as your business grows. There is no need to worry about the deployment time, as you can get access to a dedicated cloud server in the least time possible.
2. Security Benefits
Shared cloud is multi-tenant, meaning a specific of cloud resources will be shared between several clients. On the other hand, dedicated cloud hosting solutions are single-tenant, i.e., you will be the only client working on such a server without external intrusion. This lack of multi-client access also makes a dedicated server more secure.
The right selection of a dedicated cloud server should be based on whether your business’s security plan requires a multi-tenant or a single-tenant environment. For instance, if you want to host confidential QuickBooks data of various clients, choosing a dedicated server for such needs is a better choice.
3. Add-Ons Integration
While using diverse business applications, it is common for individuals to look for more features and functional values beyond the in-built application features. This complimentary feature addition is done via add-on integration. While you may not be able to get this done on a shared cloud having limited resources, it is possible when you choose dedicated cloud hosting solutions.
Keep in mind that the more add-ons you integrate with a cloud-hosted application, the more cloud resources they will use. Hence, it would be best to select the cloud server configuration based on the number of add-ons you want to integrate with specific software.
4. No Overhead Costs Involved
If your business needs a dedicated server but cannot invest time or resources to deploy and manage it, dedicated cloud hosting solutions can help you. It is a cost-effective way to access the full resources of a cloud server. While the cost of installing and maintaining the server lies in the hands of a cloud solution provider, you can fulfill the business needs without paying for overhead costs.
Many businesses think of cloud hosting solutions as a necessity to survive and thrive in the current time. But what works for one company may not be suitable for another. The same holds when you consider the comparison between shared or dedicated cloud hosting solutions. If anything can take you closer to making the right choice, it is your understanding of the business and how cloud solutions can help you overcome several challenges. It would thus, be in your best interest not to make any decision in a hurry.
