Introduction
The terms “Data Center” and “Cloud” are frequently used terms in IT discussions. Though understood to perform the same task of storing data and provide centralized applications/compute, both differ significantly.
While a Data Center is essentially a part of on premise IT infrastructure of an organization, Cloud is an off-premise resource for data storage that is accessed over internet.
Data Center vs Cloud
Detailed differentiation between Traditional Data Center and Cloud Data Center is shared in the below table –
PARAMETER | DATA CENTER | CLOUD |
| Infrastructure & Applications | Dedicated to one customer or organization | Shared across customers |
| Services model | Dedicated team of the customer/organization | Shared services across customers |
| Location | The physical location of data center can be within or outside the organisation’s premises | Cloud Data center is located off-premise in service provider location |
| Accessed via | Dedicated and reliable WAN links like MPLS, P2P connections. | Primarily accessed over unreliable Internet |
| Security | More secured and better security can be implemented based on respective companies IT policy | Less Secured than traditional Data Center |
| Setup and upgrade time | Data Center takes much longer to be provisioned and high on operational cost | Almost available immediately based on subscription/payment by respective customer. Cloud systems can be built within moments and can be de-commissioned instantly. |
| Implementation and operating cost | High since dedicated servers and supporting infrastructure needs to be provisioned. | Low since shared applications and servers are provisioned which multiple customers leverage. Hence the cost is shared across customers. |
| Scalability | Low on scalability. Capacity expansion of Data center requires to spend the significant amount of money to match increasing workloads | Cloud facility is highly scalable and quickly adapts to your business needs. Cloud offers unlimited capacity expansion based on vendor’s products and service plans. |
| Reliability | Data Centers are generally less reliable than Cloud Data Centers | Cloud servers use multiple data centers in different geographical locations with appropriate backup. This provides safety from unwarranted downtime |
| Performance | Traditional Data Centers are built to handle various types of simple and complex application workloads. Hence high on application performance | Cloud environment is generally a best effort based service and may not offer the performance equivalent to traditional data Center |
| Control | High control since owned and managed by company IT team or under strict control of 3rd party. | Very limited control because it is owned and managed by 3rd party |
| Management | Completely performed by internal IT team. | Managed and provisioned by cloud service provider |
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Download the comparison table: Data Center vs Cloud
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am here to share my knowledge and experience in the field of networking with the goal being – “The more you share, the more you learn.”
I am a biotechnologist by qualification and a Network Enthusiast by interest. I developed interest in networking being in the company of a passionate Network Professional, my husband.
I am a strong believer of the fact that “learning is a constant process of discovering yourself.”
– Rashmi Bhardwaj (Author/Editor)
