The False Premise of “On Premises”

Now that most of the world appears to be impacted by the current public health crisis and most businesses that can do so are working remotely, it’s time to call out the posers and pundits on this particular topic. Firstly, because those who know me are aware of my grammar peculiarities, can we at least ensure that we’re all using the correct terminology? It’s “premises” with an “s,” not “premise.” Please, please, please, try to get it correct. It’s one of those figurative “fingernails on a chalkboard” terms for me.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk tech. Specifically, let’s talk about why it really just doesn’t matter where your tech is located – whether it’s in the cloud or on premises. Why, I hear you ask? Because, even systems that are physically installed in your building can be made accessible via remote access. And, know what? Sometimes, those on premises tools are better. That’s not to say that they aren’t sometimes inferior; but, there’s no magic to hosted solutions that automatically makes them more secure or more robust. Let me give an example.

I was responsible for the IT systems for an Am Law 200 firm back in the mid 2000’s. We had ten offices located across the State of Florida. Hurricanes were a reality and a regularity. In fact, while I was there, in one year, we suffered two direct hits at our largest office that knocked-out power for more than several days each time. Our primary datacenter with all of our mission critical systems were located and running in that office. Guess what? They all remained operational and accessible. How? Planning.

To ensure our on premises systems remained accessible for our personnel working remotely, we ensured that the systems had adequate battery backup and generators. This is no different for cloud technology providers – they must have the same facilities (albeit, presumably, on a larger scale to support their broader customer base). Further, we had various systems that enabled remote access capability – VPNs, Citrix (the primary datacenter was in Fort Lauderdale – how could we not have relied on the “local” vendor from down the road?), and other systems. More so, we had a fully replicated, secondary datacenter located half-way across the country, out of harm’s way. When we needed to “fail-over” and run systems from that site (because it made more sense than relying on a diesel generator given that the capabilities of that secondary site were every bit as adequate), we did. Keep in mind that I’m glossing-over much of the detail and work that went into ensuring this capability, but, that’s because the whole point that I’m trying to make here is that, it was possible and we did it, years before “cloud computing” was touted as the be-all, end-all. Our personnel were able to access their documents, record hours, generate bills, and connect with one another. Again, this was all without any of those systems running in the cloud – they were all on premises.

Ok, so, what’s the point of cloud computing if it’s not better? Ah, I didn’t say that it wasn’t better (possibly), I just said that it’s not magically better for remote working. Of course, that said, it does still bring with it plenty of advantages. There are countless articles written about the benefits from being able to quickly spin-up a system in the cloud, or being able to buy it on subscription without a large capital outlay, or how, assuming the vendor is competent, it is likely more secure, or, how it is already designed, by default, to be remotely accessible. The advent of cloud computing has led to so many more vendors being able to jump into the market and offer fairly robust systems to a broader and more geographically diverse array of clients. But, the same rules still apply to evaluating and selecting the tools themselves.

The point is that you need to compare solutions to what else you have, need to have, or are considering having, and make educated decisions – not assumptions. The point is that, if you currently have on premises systems that are dutifully running your business and which otherwise have been paid for and for which there’s no other reason to replace, consider what else can be done if your only missing component is remote accessibility. Many businesses today rely on some on premises systems – and, all things being equal, there’s nothing wrong with that. If yours is one of them and you’re now finding yourself in need of accessing those systems, don’t automatically assume it’s not possible. There really are numerous options for enabling remote access to on premises systems. I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t also consider your options for replacing those systems, if it makes sense to do so; I’m simply suggesting you go into that decision fully educated and aware that you likely have options. You need to balance all the factors – including cost and the potential disruption to your business from swapping-out systems.

At the end of the day, these are business decisions for business systems, and they need to be evaluated with a business mindset, not just a vendor hype and hysteria one.