Technological advancements do not stop for anyone⁠— it is whether you go with the flow or you can go behind the line. As a business owner, you have to get up and grind with the gears of the future. You may have noticed the trend of online businesses and online retailers, mostly within the fashion industry. Some corporations have made their name on the e-commerce scene, companies such as Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, Wish, etc. But you do not have to become a corporate giant before jumping onto the e-commerce scene, you can start building your way up right now. All you need is a couple of articles on how to start turning your business into an online store.

First, you will need to be educated on how e-commerce works. It is basically just doing shopping over the internet; buying, selling, and doing transactions are all part of it. A big part of the industry is owning a website. Now, owning a website is not as daunting as it sounds like, you just need a good web hosting provider, they can help you set up your brand new online store. If their services are a good fit for your needs, you can confide in them about how you want your website set up, what domain name you may want to use, all things like that. So once you have that settled, it is about time to choose a server.

There are two kinds of servers: in-house or on-premise and on-cloud or cloud-based. An in-house server is the one where you have a physical server to keep and maintain on hand, meanwhile, an on-cloud server is where you have all the good things of an on-premise server minus the actual, physical thing. You can read a more in-depth comparison of the two here. All things considered, most businesses nowadays rely on cloud-based servers. Since a cloud-based server is automated by your hosting provider and not to mention, very accessible anytime, anywhere, and from any device, you would not have to worry about hiring an IT team to maintain and make sure that your server is up and running. Business owners are all about cost-effectivity, accessibility, and resilience, and cloud servers are all about that.

Cloud-based servers are great for small business because running and maintaining an on-premise server can hurt your budget. From the cost of the physical server to software licenses, you are better off investing your hard-earned money into upgrading your website. As a small business owner, you have to keep in mind these three things:

• ACCESSIBILITY
• COST-EFFECTIVITY
• FLEXIBILITY

These three things will make sure that you have got the best cloud-based server for your buck.

ACCESSIBILITY. As mentioned above, accessibility is an important factor of running an online business. You have to tend to your site even if you are away from your desk. A cloud-based server can help you with that since you can access your data and information as long as you have a stable and secure internet connection and a compatible gadget. Also, a ‘round-the-clock support team is important because server or website troubles do not sleep like us humans. A good support team should have a fast response time, knowledgeable about the services they offer, great at troubleshooting, and reachable at any given moment.

COST-EFFECTIVITY. Maintaining a physical server can be expensive. You would have to dedicate a room for it to be properly stored, hire an onsite IT technician, and still think about additional fees for licenses. With a cloud-based server from ServerHub, you can eliminate all of these. We will take care of everything, from the maintenance of your server to renewing your software licenses, we can handle it all. That means you can focus more on running your business since your provider will take care of your server, they will be in charge of minimizing the downtime that you may experience and they will be the ones who will continuously upgrade your plans whenever you see fit. Less backroom maintenance means there’s more time for you to upkeep the side of the business that customers see.

FLEXIBILITY. With your data and information all up in the cloud protected by your provider, running a business has never been a breeze. You can expand your business domestically or internationally if your provider offers international hosting and ServerHub offers international and local hosting with seven locations throughout the US and two locations abroad in Germany and the Netherlands, you can now expand into new territories smoothly. Even if you are running your physical store in the US, you can access your online site across Europe.

As a business owner with a working site running under a cloud-based server, you will have to power to work from the comfort of your own home. This will minimize the transportation cost (e.g commuting, gas money) of you going to the location on which you have your in-house server. As mentioned before, your chosen provider will be the ones who will take care of everything server related, taking off those kinds of responsibilities of your hands. Still worried about the integrity of the cloud? Ask your provider to walk you through their process of securing your site’s data. Make sure to regularly communicate with your provider to ensure the quality of the services you are getting and if they are truly catered to the needs of your business.

Whether you have a startup company or a prominent name in the game, you have to consider the things that are fundamental to the success of your company. These factors, such as security and cost, can heavily affect your business, especially if your services rely on data and information. Investing in a server that can be tailored to match the exact needs of your business is crucial since you will be handling sensitive and private data from your users. As an individual or an entity, your choices will have an impact on how your business will run, you are tasked to find and handle sensitive data without compromising your products or the business itself.

In today’s day and age, more and more hosting companies are offering their services to sole owners and companies, providing information to help them decide. You might be even canvassing for prices and offers from various hosting sites, looking up the difference between the offers. It just so happens that in the age of cloud-based everything, maintaining in-house servers may not offer you the flexibility you need or it may even cost you more money.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN IN-HOUSE SERVER AND A CLOUD-BASED SERVER

An in-house server is what you would expect to see in a server, it has all the physical aspect of what you would find in a normal one. On the other hand, a cloud-based server is when you don’t have a physical representation of a dedicated server but you have the ability to manage data from your own device. Basically, it’s like having a physical flashdrive and an online drive where you can still keep your files secured.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

• Logistics
• Cost and Effectivity
• Security

The following information regarding with weighing the pros and cons between an in-house server and a cloud-based server will be presented through a list format for clarity.

IN-HOUSE SERVER

LOGISTICS

PROS

• Server is secured within the immediate premises.
• Maintenance can be monitored frequently.
• Total control over the server.

CONS

• You will need a dedicated room for the server.
• IT staff is not available 24/7.
• Additional team of people to overlook and maintain the server.

COST AND EFFECTIVITY

PROS

• Perfect for small businesses.
• Does not rely on the internet.
• 100% physically manageable.

CONS

• Investment can be costly.
• Uptimes are not 100% guaranteed.
• You’re going to shoulder the fees that come with software licensing and maintenance.

SECURITY

PROS

• Physical backups are possible.
• 100% control over privacy. No one but you (or your trusted IT team) can access the data.

CONS

• Physical servers and their backups are risk-prone with disasters. (Flood, earthquake, fire, etc.)

CLOUD-BASED SERVER

LOGISTICS

PROS

• It will not take up any physical space.
• Can be managed remotely.
• Logistically, cloud-based servers can save you a lot of money. Especially when you don’t really have to invest in dedicating a physical space and a team to keep things running smoothly. Support from your chosen provider is 24/7 ready.

COST AND EFFECTIVITY

PROS

• Only pay for the services you want to avail.
• Upgrades are available through your provider.
• Storage can be upgraded if requested.
• Uptimes are 100% guaranteed.
• You don’t have to worry about software licensing since it will be provided by the hosting company.

CONS

• Monthly hosting fees will take place.
• Might not be as cost-effective as an in-house server if the business does not rely much on servers.
• Depending on the size of data, limits can be a hindrance.
• Cloud-based servers rely on the internet. You will need a strong, stable connection in order to connect to your server. If your access goes down, you can’t access your data.

SECURITY

PROS

• Data backups can be set in intervals.
• Cloud-based server providers have strong measures against breaches and attacks.

CONS

• You will have to give up total control of your server since your hosting provider will be managing most of your data.
• If you’re a skeptic when it comes to internet security, you might want to stick with an in-house server since a cloud-based server will rely on the internet.

Do bear in mind that these circumstances are based on hypothetical situations. Different servers and hosting plans exist for the purpose of catering to many different businesses, that being said, the factors on which it’s based on is still pretty much the same for every company. Although different factors can affect how you would decide, a basic comparison can guide you and having a detailed run-down of pros and cons can help you tremendously when deciding which kind of server to use. There is no one-server-fits-all type, it’s why different hosting providers are offering various plans and products so that clients can have a better time at choosing which one can handle the demands of their services. We at ServerHub want what is best for you and your products, we offer cloud-based servers with flexible plans. Our support team consists of experts that are available 24/7, and they will gladly help you decide and plan out which would be the right one for you and your needs.