Managed Vs Unmanaged Cloud | Liquid Web

These past few years have seen unprecedented changes in how business data is handled worldwide. COVID-19 was certainly a disruptor. It instigated a rapid change to data architectures that encouraged hybrid and remote working situations. But it was not the sole cause of this change. Rather, the pandemic and resulting lockdowns made a change that was already coming much more urgent. Just about everyone knew the need for more flexible and secure servers would come eventually. The pandemic simply turned eventually into right now. 

Discover the differences between managed and unmanaged (or traditional) private cloud, learn the advantages and disadvantages of each, and explore some of the factors you should consider when choosing the type of server infrastructure that’s right for your organization.

A managed private cloud is a clustered server environment where the business providing the hosting also supports the physical hardware in addition to the facilities. The benefits here are clear – you have a fully trained, specialist team of hardware and software engineers on call 24 hours a day (depending on your SLA) to implement, change, maintain, and/or upgrade your cloud solutions. You know you have the best possible people on hand to manage server issues, and you don’t have to pay them full-time. The provider is able to spread the cost across all of its managed server customers and send you a predictable, agreed-upon monthly bill.

An unmanaged or traditional private cloud is a hosting environment that is managed by the owner. The service provider makes a private cloud environment available for your use and pretty much leaves you to it. Their responsibility is to keep the physical server in working order and to keep the power and data lines connected. Anything you put on the server, software updates, backups, etc., needs to be handled by a team on your end. 

The only real benefit of this kind of hosting environment is that it is typically less expensive than a managed private server… Unless you count the cost of paying your own sysadmin and their team. Sometimes, that adds up to being more expensive.

Money should not be the only consideration when comparing managed private cloud vs unmanaged private cloud solutions. Rather, you should also consider reliability and the benefits of having rapid – essentially instant – access to truly expert support. If everything goes perfectly all year long, an unmanaged cloud solution might just cost less than a managed cloud solution. But when was the last year you can remember nothing going wrong with your servers?

In the end, what you’ll notice most about using a managed private cloud solution is the incredible reliability you’ll receive. After all, the server managers know that keeping a server from experiencing trouble is much easier for them than cleaning up the mess after a problem. When you add in the cost control aspects of your SLA, the lower risk to your business operations, and the access to near-instant scaling of server resources you’ll enjoy, you’ll never look back to unmanaged solutions. 

From the boots-on-the-ground perspective, the managed private cloud vs unmanaged cloud debate is even simpler. An unmanaged remote server means keeping your own IT team on hand. It also means you’ve got the constant administrative stress of keeping that team lean enough to keep costs down but robust enough to deal with problems quickly and completely before they cut into your profits. 

Too lean, and downtime kills your profitability. Too robust, and salaries and admin concerns do the same. 

In the end, a managed service provider can afford to keep a large, highly skilled, and updated team in operation constantly because they have enough servers to keep a top-notch team productively occupied. 

First and foremost, you should consider scale. How many servers do you need? The smaller your data use, the more cost-ineffective keeping an internal sysadmin and IT team online for that server becomes. 

Next, consider how much control you actually need. If you’re uncomfortable letting an external provider install apps on your server, you might not want a managed solution. 

Customer support is also an issue – an unmanaged server leaves that all in your hands. A managed solution can handle both tech and customer support for you. 

Deciding between managed private cloud vs unmanaged private cloud solutions isn’t always easy. Most businesses will be able to make a clear case for one solution or the other, but some will inevitably find themselves on the fence. If that is the case for you, contact Liquid Web today for a custom-crafted solution that answers all of your needs.