With the recent boom of the virtual workplace, many small- to medium-sized businesses are realizing the amount of overhead that having a physical environment entails. From office space to utilities, furniture, amenities and hardware costs all add up and have become a lesser priority. Ensuring that employees have a reliable platform to log into and perform their work duties efficiently is imperative, and with this comes the dilemma of owning a physical server or relying on cloud hosting companies to provide this service.

Two of the most common reasons for opting out of owning hardware are maintenance and life span. Technology is constantly evolving and servers can quickly need hardware updates or become obsolete. It is crucial to compare the cost of owning the equipment, maintenance and upgrades versus the cost of operating in a virtually hosted environment.

For most, the advantages of outsourcing are significantly greater. Upfront costs are considerably reduced (if not eliminated), the stress from catastrophic events is lessened, and the cost of a virtual environment will typically be similar to owning.

A hosting cloud provider will carry the burden of having the proper hardware to support the number of users and data being serviced, updating costs to ensure systems are working at optimal conditions, and preparing for catastrophic events.

They will expertly cater resources to your needs and allow for scalability. Whether you need to cut back or quickly add personnel, having a virtually hosted environment allows you to make those changes quickly without worrying about having to purchase or downgrade hardware.

Leveraging the expertise of your hosting partner with additional resources needed to maintain an efficient virtual work force will simplify the process and maximize efficacy.

It can be scary moving from a physical to a virtual platform. Talk to your managed services provider or internal network administrator about the pros and cons of making the switch.  Every situation is unique and has its own set of challenges. The end goal is to maximize your resources and implement what works best for you.