Advantages of Cloud-Based Asset Management System Over Self-Hosted Asset Management

In accordance to a recent study, shared by Verizon - 2016 State of the Market: Enterprise Cloud report, cloud computing is moving into the mainstream of most businesses, with over 80% expecting significant workload migration to the cloud by 2018.

Considering this all businesses or industries today are very likely to shift to either of the two kinds of system deployment for the asset management requirements - Cloud-based services & On-premise/Self-hosted systems.

The best way to analyze the above underlying question is to compare both the services.

So, let us compare the Benefits of Cloud-Based Asset Management System over on-premise self-hosted asset management system.

Benefits of Cloud Over On-Premise Self Hosted Asset Management System

1. Continuous Innovation

New product features are regularly released which helps in continuous innovation and enhances the productivity in a cloud-based asset management software. However, in a self-hosted asset management system, all the updates can only be carried out after the complete shut-down of the process.

Also Read: How Cloud-Based Asset Management is beneficial for the business?

2. Flexibility & Scalability

Monthly payments are possible and it can be increased or decreased depending on the usage. This reduces the upfront payment and reduces the unruly burden added to the setup cost. On the other hand, for an on-premise asset management system, all the hardware, software and maintenance costs will be bored by the organization.

3. Improved Resource Utilization

Cloud-based asset management system is user-friendly and since they are hosted on the cloud, there is virtually no need of IT team for maintenance. Hence, they get more time for critical issues in the core business.

For a self-hosted asset management system, the staff members will be partially focused on managing and maintaining the software apart from the regular work.

4. Accessible from Anywhere, Anytime

Cloud-based asset management systems make it possible to access the related files from any location with internet connectivity on any device and streamline the workflow.

Accessibility of a self-hosted asset management system is slowed down with firewalls and VPN's which makes it impossible for users to connect seamlessly.

5. Bugs Eliminated Quickly

Any software bug that arises in a cloud-based asset management system can be easily resolved because the application is hosted in one single environment.

Although the removal of bugs on a self-hosted asset management system would be faster and easier, the entire network will have to shut down to avoid any human error.

6. Security of the Data

On a cloud-based asset management system, there would be multiple layers of security deployed by the service provider to ensure the total security of the data and hence offer enhanced privacy to the end consumers.

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But on a self-hosted asset management system, the security certificates have to be maintained by the user. The cost of these security certificates can reduce the profitability of the organization.

7. Disaster Recovery

On a cloud-based asset management system, the data centers are housed in a safe environment with utmost care. Any loss of data from one data center will switch the application support to another data center.

But in a self-hosted asset management system, any natural or man-made calamity can cause total loss of data without any scope of recovery.

And above all, there is no limitation of cloud-based asset management systems available in the market. Any downtime or bug will not have to be tolerated for long, by the users.

Whereas in a self-hosted asset management system, a primary setup cost has already been incurred which makes it impossible to abolish the system and switch to a viable solution.

The universal free text search feature can assist in enhancing user-friendliness in a cloud-based asset management system. But in a self-hosted asset management system, it becomes tedious to search for any particular asset in a short span of time.

Workflow management becomes easier in a cloud-based asset management system due to the restricted user visibility and avoiding any miscommunication. And in a self-hosted asset management system, any communication might take several emails or notifications in order to arrive at a conclusion.

8. Resource Pooling

On a cloud-based asset management system, there is some degree of shared resources from which everyone can draw services as per their need. Whereas in a self-hosted asset management system, any such idea is virtually impossible and might involve huge costs to share.

Final Note

Therefore, we can say that Cloud-based Asset Management systems are more reliable, viable, business-friendly and can lead organizations to continuous growth.

Also Read: SaaS & Cloud Computing: Difference in terms of Asset Management

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What Is Self-Hosted Asset Management?

Self-hosted asset management is the practice of locally hosting and managing applications rather than renting from SaaS (Software as a Service) services providers. Self-hosted asset management is not good for practice because it will only complicate your work and you will have to manage all things by yourself. For example, self-hosting asset management would be monitoring and maintaining assets or private servers. It will be not only expensive, but you will also have to give a tremendous amount of your time. In case the server does not work then you will have to wait till servers are rectified and maintained.

2. What Are the Disadvantages of Cloud Computing Asset Management?

The disadvantages of cloud computing asset management are discussed below:

Downtime – Sine cloud is based on an internet-based service so it can lead to unexpected downtime.

Limited control - The infrastructure and services are monitored and owned by the service provider, so he has full control and you have limited access and control.

Vendor Lock-in - Simple exchanging between cloud administrations is an assistance that hasn't yet totally developed, and associations might find it hard to move their administrations starting with one merchant then onto the next.

3. What Are the Benefits of Cloud Computing Technology That Are Not Mentioned Above?

There are lots of benefits of cloud computing technology and a few of them are mentioned above. Cloud computing is cost-saving as you do not have to purchase software and hardware, so money is saved. You do not have to worry about data loss as well because data is saved on multiple servers. Moreover, you can gain data insights that help businesses in improving their daily operations and bottom line as well.