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Many businesses choose to host SharePoint on physical servers in a data centre and there are a number of advantages of deploying SharePoint in the Cloud. A typical on-premises SharePoint Farm includes multiple machines to handle the application, databases, and front end of the platform. There are a number of disadvantages to this approach, and as cloud technologies become more accessible to businesses, an increasing number of companies are choosing to migrate their SharePoint farm to the cloud.

Improved Reliability & Resilience

The biggest disadvantage of a local or on-premises SharePoint farm is reliability. If there are any issues with the equipment that is being used – from a simple power interruption through to a failure, the whole installation can be compromised. This can significantly impact productivity and may even result in data loss that could be highly costly.
By migrating to the cloud, you remove that point of failure and create an environment that is naturally more resilient. Cloud applications run on virtual machines that are spread over a number of physical servers which means that the risk of data loss or an interruption is minimal.

In the event of a physical machine failing, there can be a gap in service while the machine is replaced. Depending on the spec of the server being used, there may be a long lead time for a like-for-like replacement which may mean that an interim solution is required that could impact performance until a solution can be provided. Virtual machines can be provisioned almost immediately.

Reduce Costs by deploying SharePoint in the Cloud

The total cost of ownership (TCO) of an on-premises hosting solution for SharePoint is high. Aside from the upfront cost of the equipment itself, other ongoing costs are incurred. These include general costs such as the electricity to run the service, and also (more importantly), the cost of managing the platform. This includes backups, physical maintenance, software licenses, and patches.

With virtual infrastructure, back-ups can be automatic, and most ongoing costs are built into the subscription. There may be an upfront cost for the initial cloud set-up, but many of the day-to-day management tasks that are required for a datacentre can be either automated or are not required which means a lower overall management cost.  If you are already using cloud services for SharePoint, the chances are that Valto can help you to reduce your Azure Costs through better optimisation.

Increased Flexibility

In most cases, an on-premises SharePoint farm will need to have a higher specification than is needed at the time it is set up. The reason for this is that it needs to be able to support changes in the business over the time it is used. Typically the capital expenditure for infrastructure investment is high and the servers are a long-term commitment.
Migrating SharePoint to the cloud gives you more flexibility which can reduce costs. Rather than needing to create a spec for the future, you can create a spec that’s right now, and then change the requirements as the business scales.

In fact, cloud platforms like Azure can provide granular flexibility, so you can adapt the specification depending on demand at different times of day – reducing the spec of your VMs at times of lower demand reduces the subscription costs leading to savings.

Ready To Find Out More?

If your business is currently hosting SharePoint on legacy equipment, migrating to the cloud could help you to improve performance and free up some of your IT budgets. Contact a member of our team today to find out more about deploying SharePoint in the Cloud.