MSP Guide: Pros and Cons of Cloud-Based vs. On-Premises Cybersecurity Solutions

The Pros and Cons of the On-premises Cybersecurity Model

Although it could be seen as a bit on the old-fashioned side, the on-premises model does come with a few advantages:

• Customization
  An on-premises solution provides IT teams with complete control over meeting compliance mandates. Since data and applications are stored on servers in-house, IT teams always know the location of their data and assets.
   

• IT Control
  Organizations can fully customize and integrate systems to meet their specific business needs.

Unfortunately, on-premises Security solutions also bring some challenges.

• Scarcity of cybersecurity talent
  These days, cybersecurity professionals with cybersecurity expertise are in high demand.
   

• Cost to maintain an information security team
  Qualified information security professionals come with a hefty price tag (approx. $98,350 USD a year, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics).
   

• Limited capacity and scalability
  Traditional on-premises systems often don’t provide enough storage capacity, processing power, or scalability, impeding the ability to view and analyze data across the enterprise.
   

• Resource usage
  On-premise security solutions usually have a set fee, regardless of how much the organization uses.

The Case for Going with Cloud-based security services

Cloud-based threat management capabilities are evolving rapidly. They offer huge potential for cost benefits and operational efficiencies that on-premises solutions can’t provide. In addition to sharing the costs of infrastructure, bandwidth, and expertise across clients, cloud-based solutions allow organizations to share information to correlate intelligence and block sophisticated, blended cyberattacks. What follows is a breakdown of some of the main pros of cloud-based solutions.  

• Cost efficiencies
  Companies can engage the resources and expertise of a cloud-based security solutions provider, paying only for what they use.
   

• Sound investment
  Investing in cloud security solutions allows organizations to take advantage of an OpEx model to reduce capital expenses, helping them realize potential cost benefits throughout the year.
   

• Flexible solution development
  Businesses can rapidly adjust cloud computing capabilities to scale to the volume of internal and external threat information.
   

• Data Security
  Cloud security services can enable safer information sharing by combining analytics from multiple sources without compromising data security.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which model best suits your needs. However, to accommodate the scalability and flexibility MSPs need to serve their existing clients well while still growing profitably, the cloud-based cybersecurity model is more likely the way to go.

To see how cloud-based Webroot® cybersecurity solutions can benefit your business, click here.