Cloud v. On-Premise What s right for you?
Contents Introduction 3 The Case for Cloud 4 The Case for On-Premise 5 Overview 6 Total Cost of Ownership 8 Conclusion 10
Introduction Cloud or On-Premise? There s no right answer. The decision to host your OpenAsset in the cloud or on-premise truly does depend on your business needs and analysis of the TCO (total cost of ownership). In this document, we ll outline the benefits and costs of each solution to help you make an informed decision about whether OpenAsset Cloud or OpenAsset On-Premise is right for you. 3
The Case for Cloud OpenAsset Cloud runs on Amazon s AWS infrastructure, offering best-in-class global performance for speed and durability. For many organizations, offloading some critical functions to the cloud is a great option for cutting costs associated with purchasing and maintaining IT infrastructure. Totally worry-free data backup Data is automatically backed up and duplicated to multiple physical locations. You don t have to worry about tape drives, hard drive redundancy, RAID configuration, distributed storage solutions or the countless other headaches of managing your own storage infrastructure! The database is backed up automatically and has redundant copies on hot standby that can take over as soon as an error occurs. Less Burden on IT Resources OpenAsset Cloud frees IT teams from the burden of managing hardware and provisioning storage space. Installation, upgrades, and bug fixes all happen behind the scenes, so your end users are always accessing the latest version of OpenAsset, with limited IT involvement. Users and IT departments spend less time communicating issues to support, and more time benefitting from solutions. Usage-Based Storage Costs There are always costs associated with storage, whether you purchase and host servers or purchase space from a vendor in the cloud. With the cloud, If you end up only needing 25GB, you ll only pay for 25GB. With onpremise, you re responsible for estimating and provisioning enough server space to accommodate maximum capacity. Overestimation can lead to wasted space and underestimation can cause serious headaches for IT staff, and may result in server downtime. Bandwidth Costs are When it comes to managing images and videos, bandwidth usage expands rapidly. With on-premise solutions you need to provision enough bandwidth at your data center (or wherever you locate your servers) to handle the traffic from your users who may be in different locations. With OpenAsset Cloud, you only have to provision bandwidth for your users and don t have to worry about the load on the data center, we cover that cost. You won t pay extra for uploading thousands of new files, creating large documents or streaming videos. Global Access and Mobility Files are moved around the globe using Amazon s super fast proprietary network. Large video files will get from the USA to Japan much faster than they would over the public internet, making OpenAsset Cloud ideal for companies with multiple offices. Images and videos can be cached and delivered locally to a browser from over 50 locations on 5 continents. That means you won t be waiting for files to download over the public internet from another continent, they ll automatically be delivered from your nearest edge location. And no need to worry about poking web servers through your firewall, OpenAsset Cloud is accessible from anywhere. CAPEX and Maintenance Savings Cloud software allows you to avoid the high upfront costs of purchasing and maintaining software, hardware, and facilities for an on-premise installation. Hardware must be purchased, and contingency budget put aside for hardware failure. There is the cost of IT staff salary for server maintenance and coordinating upgrades, and don t forget the electricity cost of energy hungry severs! 4
The Case for On-Premise While there are many benefits to a cloud digital asset management (DAM) solution, there are several business cases for keeping your DAM content close. The main driver for an on-premise installation is security, followed by speed and some technical requirements. Total Control Over Data Security If your data is mission-critical, or extremely sensitive, you may find that the ability to have 100% control of availability and access may justify the cost of managing an on-premise installation. Single Office with Poor Internet Connection For organizations with one office location and a very poor internet connection, an on-premise installation will perform better. While 5 years ago this might have been a more common issue, these days you re extremely likely to have a decent internet connection at your office. If YouTube plays fine then your internet connection is likely to be good enough to handle a DAM system in the Cloud. LAN Access While our cloud solution is delivered via super fast Amazon Web Services, you may notice a difference when you re uploading and downloading large video files. If you re doing more than streaming video from the DAM, and using the DAM to store work-in-progress video files, you may find that a LAN connection is faster. Also, if you have a very particular need for access to the files through local network UNC paths, on-premise might be the option for you. Upgrade Control On-Premise systems run on certain versions and integrate with other business applications. Staying on-premise gives you more control over when to upgrade your software and manage the impact on these integrations. Most DAM vendors support defined legacy versions of on-premise. LAN Only Integration Some systems do not allow integration with cloud-based software. Legacy ERPs, which are run from the LAN, may not be visible from the cloud. Deploying on-premise ensures you can integrate with these systems. As these systems move to the cloud you will need to consider how to manage the integration with your DAM. 5
Overview What s right for you? Once you ve identified the DAM that suits your industry and organizational needs, you ll need to decide whether to host on-premise or in the cloud. Use the chart on the following page to discover the differences between a cloud and on-premise configuration of OpenAsset. 6
Cloud On-Premise Data Location Amazon s secure cloud environment provides an excellent level of reassurance that your data is safe and protected. If you need to keep your data within your network for security or compliance reasons you may want to go with on-premise. Data Backup Database is backed up automatically and has redundant copies on hot standby that can take over as soon as an error occurs. Your IT team is responsible for file and database backup. Administration Removes the burden of hardware and software administration. Software updates are included with your OpenAsset subscription. When it comes to upgrades, it all happens behind the scene, in seconds, transparently so your software is always up to date. Requires a higher level of involvement from your IT resources to resolve issues, install updates, and manage hardware. Software updates are included with your subscription, though your IT team will liaise with OpenAsset support to schedule installation of software updates. Deployment Implementation time is usually extremely fast, as no server space needs to be provisioned locally. Your IT team liaise with OpenAsset s support team to provision server space and coordinate a time to install the software. Scalability Usage-based pricing mean you only pay for what you need. If you end up only needing 25GB you ll avoid over-spending because of inaccurate estimates and provisioning the storage in advance yourself. Scalability requires that you anticipate your future needs, and purchase storage accordingly. Overestimation will result in wasted capacity, and underestimation will cost you server downtime. Mobility No need to worry about poking web servers through your firewalls, OpenAsset Cloud is available from anywhere. In order to allow users to access OpenAsset outside of your network, your IT staff must configure your network for that purpose, and integrate OpenAsset into your external networking policies. Speed Files are moved around the globe using Amazon s lightning fast proprietary network. Images and videos can be cached and delivered locally to a browser from over 50 locations on 5 continents, which makes it ideal for clients with offices in multiple countries. When it comes to sharing large work-in-progress video files, you may experience noticeably faster speeds with a LAN connection in a single office environment. If you have multiple offices, speeds will diminish as it doesn t leverage Amazon s super fast network. Interface & Functionality OpenAsset is accessed via web browser. With a nearly identical interface, users search, manage and use images and videos in much the same way. OpenAsset is accessed via web browser. With a nearly identical interface, users search, manage and use images and videos in much the same way. Integration Cloud systems in general will integrate more easily with other cloud systems typically without the need for network configuration by your IT staff. You may need work by your IT staff to integrate with on-premise systems. On-premise systems in general will integrate more easily with other on-premise systems typically without the need for network configuration by your IT staff. You may need work by your IT staff to integrate with cloud-based systems. Support Issue resolution is often faster as users and IT departments spend less time communicating issues to support, and more time benefitting from solutions. OpenAsset support will need to liaise with your people to access locally installed software. Upgrades and fixes are included as part of the your subscription, but will require more input from your IT staff to arrange deployment. 7
Total Cost of Ownership The final decision for cloud or on-premise will be heavily influenced by considering the Total Cost of Ownership over a few years. All cost factors need to be thoroughly considered. 8
Cloud With OpenAsset Cloud, because we host the software for you, you avoid installation fees and the cost of purchasing and maintaining hardware. OpenAsset Cloud has a data charge that scales with the size of your system. The data charge encompasses not only the cost of storage, but also backup, bandwidth, file processing. and other costs that increase as your digital library grows. On-Premise The Total Cost of Ownership is more than software + hardware. In addition to the annual subscription OpenAsset On-Premise requires you to pay a one-time installation fee and all costs of purchasing and maintaining the hardware. Subscription Automatic 20% discount on annual subscription Annual subscription Installation One-time installation fee Re-Installation One-time installation fee Server Storage Data Backup Global Content Delivery Network Ongoing IT Salary Costs Hardware Contingency Budget Electricity 9
Conclusion Because every company is different, it s important to consider your organization s situation and needs before deciding whether an on-premise or cloud DAM is best. Personnel, hardware, cost, security, and system requirements should all be considered. For more information about whether an onpremise or cloud DAM is right for you, contact OpenAsset today to speak with a DAM expert. 10
About OpenAsset OpenAsset is the number one digital asset management (DAM) solution for architecture, engineering, construction, and property services companies. It is delivered and supported by Axomic, which has a global presence with staff based in London and New York and clients ranging in size from 5 to 50,000 employees. OpenAsset is specifically tailored to solve the image management needs of companies working in the built environment. Its development roadmap is guided by our client base of over 600 of the world s leading AEC companies. OPENASSET.COM REQUEST A QUOTE Visit us in London Visit us in New York Axomic Ltd. Stapleton House 110 Clifton Street, London EC2A 4HT, UK +44 (0) 870 850 0435 Axomic Inc. 137 Varick Street Suite 407, New York NY 10013, USA +1 917 267 0416