Death, Taxes and Overtaxed Servers Dying: When to Upgrade to the Cloud

They say that there are only two certainties in life – Death and Taxes.  You can throw a third certainty onto that list.  The server that you are using to run your business software will fail.  If you stand idly by and wait to see what happens, it is an inevitability that can’t be avoided.

The average lifespan of a server is about 3-5 years. While some companies are content to push the limits of what their servers can do, there tends to be a direct relationship between the age of a server and the frequency with which it requires maintenance and goes down.

This puts most CFO or business owners in a difficult position.  Option A: Incur small incremental expenses paying an IT department or outside technician to constantly be servicing your server bay.  Option B: Incur a large outlay of upfront cash to update all of your servers to newer models knowing that in 3-5 years, you will be forced into making the same decision all over again.

There is a third option. Cloud computing is a way to move all of your data and software off site and into a remote server.  The hosting provider incurs the expense of making sure the servers are up to date and constantly online, saving businesses the chore of having to decide whether or not they will shoot a cannonball through their balance sheet by replacing their old servers, or if they would rather just shoot 100 tiny holes in it with a BB Gun by constantly paying for maintenance and repairs.

Logically, the best time to look into a cloud hosting solution is when your current servers are starting to hit that 3 year mark.  It might be determined that from a cost standpoint, replacing servers every three years is more cost effective than transitioning into the cloud.  That all depends on who your dedicated cloud provider is and what your unique server needs are.  Whatever the case may be, it’s good to know what your options are before you concede that there is only one alternative.