Choosing how to host your iGaming website can be a difficult choice. There are many options available to website operators, and choosing the right one has become harder than ever. We’ve taken a look at dedicated, localized server systems and using cloud based servers for hosting.
If you’re trying to decide whether a cloud-based solution (with its inherent flexibility and future-proofing) or a dedicated hardware solution (with its superior control and security) is best for your iGaming venture, then our guide is just what you need. Read on for a balanced and unbiased analysis of both options.
The Main Differences Between the Two Options
While both of these methods tend to similar outcomes, there are some distinct differences between them. Depending on your own personal situation, this means that one might be more suitable than the other.
The first main difference is the amount of space that’s needed. In order to use your own hardware, you will require a dedicated server room. This isn’t the case when using cloud based computing power. So if your company has a limited amount of space, then a cloud based system might be your only option.
Using on-site hardware means that you are in control of your data. You don’t have to rely on the security of a third party when it comes to keeping data safe. Using your own hardware also means that backups are easier to carry out. In addition to this, all maintenance is down to you. So when downtime occurs, you’re in charge of reacting to that and getting everything back online as quickly as possible. All of this is taken out of your hands when using cloud based servers as you can depend on the quality of your hosting company.
Finally, in-house servers allow you to access your data even if your own internet connection has gone down. This has obvious pros and cons: the main pro is that you will still be able to control your data and how it is used. The main con is that your site will also go offline during this time, with the onus on you and your team to get it back online, without the veteran help of a dedicated customer support team. Depending on the data that you are managing, this may be a risk worth taking.
Costs
The overall running cost all depends on the size of your business. For example, if you’re a small company then the setup, running, maintenance and storage costs of an in-house server system could be excessive. In this instance, using cloud-based computing would give you much smaller setup costs and lower running costs.
But of course there’s a potential issue here, too, and that’s expansion. Expanding a cloud-based solution could potentially increase your running costs beyond those of an in-house solution. On top of this, it might also have limits which stop you from expanding to the level you want. In-house solutions don’t have this problem: you can scale up easily as you expand, using either horizontal scaling (if you have the space for more machines) or vertical scaling otherwise.
Making the Choice
When it comes to deciding which option is best for you, there is no definite or easy answer. You have to look at your own circumstances and decide which option ticks the most boxes and offers the least compromise. It’s also important to remember that you can use an integration of both solutions to build your iGaming infrastructure. This would allow for much more efficient scaling and could be the most cost effective solution for medium to large businesses!