Is the cloud cheaper than having your own servers?

Often yes, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. However, it is worth checking the TCO for 3–5 years, because with constant, predictable workloads, your own server can still win.

Who is responsible for data in the cloud?

According to the shared responsibility model, the provider is responsible for the infrastructure, while the company is responsible for settings, access, identities, and backing up its own data.

Do we have to move everything to the cloud at once?

No. Most often we use a hybrid approach – some things stay in the local environment, some in the cloud.

Microsoft 365 and the cloud

Cloud computing

English term:Cloud computing

Short definition

Cloud computing is the rental of computing power, storage, and services over the internet instead of using in-house servers.

What does it mean Cloud computing?

What is cloud computing

Cloud computing means that a company uses servers, applications, and storage that run in a provider's data centers (Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft 365). You pay based on consumption instead of buying and maintaining your own hardware.

Main models

Cloud services are divided into IaaS (renting virtual servers), PaaS (application development platform), and SaaS (ready-made applications such as Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint). Each model brings a different balance of responsibility between the provider and the company.

Advantages for businesses

Cloud eliminates large one-time hardware investments, enables rapid scaling, automatic updates, and data access from anywhere. The provider assumes responsibility for physical security and basic infrastructure.

Why is this important for businesses?

Cloud allows companies to pay only for what they actually use and respond quickly to growth or seasonal fluctuations. IT costs become a predictable monthly expense rather than large investments every few years. It is particularly beneficial for hybrid work, as employees access tools from anywhere.

Where does this appear in practice?

Typical example: a company moves email and documents to Microsoft 365 and critical servers to Azure. Development teams use PaaS services for faster development. Backups are replicated to another cloud region for outage resilience.

Most common problems or errors

The most common mistake is moving workloads to the cloud without optimization – bills increase quickly. Another risk is insufficient attention to security settings (MFA, access rights, encryption) and the misconception that only the provider is responsible for cloud data.

Kako pri tem pomaga VitalIT

At VitalIT, we create a cloud strategy, compare TCO between on-premises environments and the cloud, perform migrations without downtime, and set up security controls. We ensure the environment remains controlled and cost-effective.

Cloud and Microsoft 365 IT infrastructure IT consulting

Related terms

Active Directory

Microsoft's system for centralized management of users, devices, permissions, and settings in a Windows environment.

Azure AD (Entra ID)

Microsoft's cloud-based identity and access service that replaces or complements classic Active Directory.

Backup

A data backup that enables recovery in the event of loss, hardware failure, or cyberattack.

Bare-metal restore

The process of restoring an entire server or computer from a backup onto empty (or brand new) hardware.

Related Services

Cloud and Microsoft 365 IT infrastructure IT consulting

Frequently asked questions

Is the cloud cheaper than having your own servers?: Often yes, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. However, it is worth checking the TCO for 3–5 years, because with constant, predictable workloads, your own server can still win.
Who is responsible for data in the cloud?: According to the shared responsibility model, the provider is responsible for the infrastructure, while the company is responsible for settings, access, identities, and backing up its own data.
Do we have to move everything to the cloud at once?: No. Most often we use a hybrid approach – some things stay in the local environment, some in the cloud.