In the 1980 Japanese film masterpiece, "Kagemusha," the hero portraying a samurai warlord comes under extraordinary enemy threat. His response was to be the mountain that doesn't move. Directed by the late Akira Kurosawa, it's a film worth watching, especially for IT managers who face if, how and when to move to cloud-based solutions.
But the argument 'to cloud or not to cloud' is not easy to answer. On-premise solutions will endure. Indeed, there is a mountain of them worldwide, and there are coherent and durable reasons that they won't be moving to the cloud anytime soon. By one measure, more than 60 percent of the market is still on-premise.
Rent Versus Buy? That's a Good Question
"The argument that the cloud is cheaper than on-premise infrastructure costs is a popular notion, but it's not that simple," said David Liu, Founder and CEO of Deltapath. "Consider renting versus buying a house. Renting a house is less expensive, but you never own the property. Similarly, when you move to the cloud, you rent instead of own."
Cloud marketers assert that the cloud is cheaper than buying the technology as an asset. The basis of the argument is that the hardware and software lifecycle is three years. After that, it becomes obsolete with no residual value.
"The cloud will never be cheaper because a three-year subscription will likely be equal to an upfront purchase," Liu said. "Moving to the cloud could be more expensive in the long run. Some argue that by moving to the cloud, organizations can save on staffing costs, but you still need in-house experts to manage the cloud vendor and take care of user requirements and support." Liu explained.
By comparison, consider renting an iPhone. In an article published by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly working on a hardware-as-subscription offering for its iPhone. That’s a compelling offer. After all, the user enjoys the benefits of the latest model at a low monthly fee.
But, when the subscription ends, the customer must relinquish the phone to Apple. The risk is in a continuous subscription service with nothing to show for it when it ends.
