Cloud or Own Server – What Suits Us?

Cloud

Pros: Ready in hours, no purchase, scaling as needed, reliability and backups included in the price, security updates for the underlying systems are handled by the provider.

Cons: Ongoing costs permanently, dependence on the provider, data is with a third party – which requires a data processing agreement.

Own Server

Pros: Full control, data in-house, cheaper with very high consistent load.

Cons: Purchase, space, electricity, cooling, someone must maintain it, reliability must be built by oneself.

What is Often Overlooked

An own server is only truly safer if someone maintains it. A server in the basement that hasn't had updates applied for two years is less secure than any cloud.

The Middle Way

A rented server from a provider in Germany or Switzerland. The data is located in the desired legal jurisdiction, and no one has to buy the hardware. Data protection-wise, it is almost as good as owning hardware, and operationally much simpler.

Where We Host

At Infomaniak in Switzerland. Other locations are possible upon request – this question should be clarified before the project begins, as it affects the architecture.