Cloud computing is a paradigm where a third-party provider hosts computing resources for you and provides them remotely over the internet. This contrasts with the traditional “on-premises” paradigm, where businesses are responsible for hosting their own IT resources in-house.
Like many other development processes and workflows, software package management can be done either in the cloud or on-premises. In the case of the cloud, the third-party provider hosts the servers needed to store your software packages, which can be accessed at a moment’s notice. In the on-premises case, the business is responsible for hosting these servers and handling support and maintenance issues.
In a world where more and more organizations are moving to the cloud, deciding to keep your package management processes on-premises might seem like a curious decision. According to Flexera’s “State of the Cloud” report, more than 90% of businesses are now using the cloud in some form or fashion.
Of course, the cloud indeed offers advantages such as scalability and access from anywhere, at any time. Still, there are multiple benefits to remaining on-premises for your software package management needs.
What are the benefits of on-premises package management
Below are some of the most significant benefits of performing software package management on-premises:
1. Security concerns
The cloud is often seen as “safer” than on-premises, but it has its own security challenges. In a survey by the domain registrar Nominet, 71% of security executives said they were “moderately, very or extremely concerned” about the risks of cyberattacks in the cloud.
If you’re confident in your organization’s cybersecurity practices, keeping package management on-premises can be safer than in the cloud. It may even be a requirement for highly regulated industries such as healthcare and finance.
2. Availability and reliability concerns
Keeping software packages in the cloud is convenient, but it creates new concerns about the availability and reliability of your cloud provider. While providers guarantee maximum levels of downtime through their service level agreements (SLAs), this may be less than reassuring if this downtime arrives unexpectedly at a critical time for your business.
On-premises software package management ensures that questions of IT availability and reliability are always firmly in your hands. Instead of waiting for issues to be fixed, you have ultimate control over any support and maintenance issues you might face.
3. Customizability
When you migrate software package management to the cloud, you’re forced to play by the cloud provider’s rules. This gives you only limited customization options in terms of parameters, configurations, features, and functionality.
With on-premises software package management, you can tweak and tailor the entire workflow according to your business needs. For example, you can easily set up access-based permissions to enact strict limits on who can use packages and how.
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