UK +44 (20) 3761 8080 SA +27 (21) 203 2900 SG +65 (69) 298 220 USA +1 646 712 9910 [email protected]

Rip the onsite server

We’re gathered here today to bid farewell to the onsite server. Reasons for a SERVER REPLACEMENT? Plenty. Server had an expensive life – One filled with costly hardware, constant monitoring and an unhealthy dependence on electricity. Server was tough to be around at times, soaking up countless man-hours and never quite revealing all the hidden costs that came with it. Server was up and down a lot – You never knew if you were truly connected. Server lost a lot of things and shared a lot of things it wasn’t supposed to. Today we lay to rest our not-so-great friend, the on-site server – And it’s about time!

A few years ago, before the meteoric rise of the cloud computing, cloud servers weren’t an option for small and medium-sized businesses. Companies had no choice but to have an onsite server located within the company where they store files, host applications, backup email and other office essentials. Micro companies had it even worse, treating external drives as a sort of mini server that had to fulfill multiple purposes. The rapid expansion of the cloud IT industry has made it possible for businesses of all sizes to enjoy the smorgesboard of benefits cloud computing brings. One of the biggest benefits? The major cost reduction that an onsite server replacement with a cloud server brings.

HOW MUCH IS YOUR BUSINESS FORKING OVER FOR ONSITE SERVERS?
The best way to calculate how much your business spends on on-site servers is to take a look at direct costs, indirect costs and hidden costs:

Direct costs: These are costs linked to any hardware required such as the actual server, software, backup costs, the server room, air conditioning, heating or ventilation equipment, server room security systems, access control systems, network cabling that needs to be done etc. Also remember that on-average, server replacement occurs every three to five years.

Indirect cost: These are costs that relate to salaries you pay, like an IT outsourced company or an IT system administrator who monitors and fixes problems. Included in that is any training that IT staff members need to administer the server, and server security software (which will require software licenses that need to be renewed annually.)

Hidden costs:

  • Electricity costs.
  • Insurance Costs.
  • Costs associated with server downtime. InformationWeek shed light on a nice 2011 STUDY done by CA Technologies. Of 200 surveyed businesses across the USA and Europe, they found that a total of $26.5 Billion USD is lost each year due to IT downtime. That’s an average of about $55,000 in lost revenue for smaller enterprises, $91,000 for midsize organizations, and a whopping $1 million+ for large companies.
  • Informal peer support.
  • Any costs associated with sub-optimal performance that causes people to waste time or work slower.

CONTROL. BUT AT WHAT COST?
A quick look at a relative cost breakdown for a typical onsite server and it isn’t hard to see why a server replacement with a complete cloud IT solution such as Cloudbox makes sense. From R175 per user per month, all your IT needs are taken care of, not just your server requirements.

Not sure what your company’s Total Cost of Ownership is? One of our IT Humans can help with that. Let us crunch the numbers and you’ll soon see why you need to join the Cloudbox family. Simply email us at [email protected] or call 021 201 1351.

Back To Top