When migrating to a new software platform, the common question people ask is – where should your facility’s software and data solution be hosted? Generally, the answer is either a cloud solution or an on-premises solution.
So, what is better for your waste facility?
Here at Mandalay, we can offer you the best of both worlds.
Future proof your waste facility with a hybrid cloud solution that consists of software that’s hosted both in the cloud and on site. With a hybrid data solution, data is generated on site and synchronised to the cloud.
Why Our Hybrid Solution is Better Than the Cloud
When organisations think about future-proofing their software and data, their first instinct is to switch from on-premises hosting to the cloud. But while there are obvious benefits of hosting your software in the cloud, there may be some valid reasons why you are reluctant to let go of on-premises hosting.
The number one reason for on-premises hosting is connecting to local devices (e.g. camera’s, weighbridges, scanners, etc.). A pure cloud environment does not work well with these dependencies, as any loss of connectivity results in an inability to process tickets. Many facilities experience poor or unstable connectivity, which makes this a very important consideration. But thanks to Mandalay’s hybrid solution, you can maintain local device connectivity while benefiting from centralised data.
Another common concern is an unstable internet connection. If you relied solely on a cloud-based solution and lost your internet connection, you would likely experience downtime and loss of operations until the connection is restored. This is another key reason that stops many organisations from switching to the cloud.
Again, this is a problem you will not experience with our hybrid solution as it can operate for up to 60 days without an internet connection. If your connectivity is lost, local ticket processing will continue to function, and data is synchronised once the connection is restored.
On-Premises vs Cloud vs Hybrid Cloud
To better realise the benefits of Mandalay’s hybrid model, here we explain the differences between the hosting options available across the following categories:
- Deployment
- Accountability and Control
- Security and Privacy
- Remote Access to Applications and Data
- Managing Data from Multiple Facilities
- Storage and Computer Scalability
- Upgrading
- Disaster Recovery
So, if you’re using out-of-date, on-premises software and/or data storage and are exploring new options for your waste facility, allow us to compare on-premises, cloud and hybrid hosting solutions, and explain exactly why our hybrid solution is a better choice.
Deployment – How the software is implemented and accessed
On-Premises
Under this model, resources are deployed in-house, and your existing IT infrastructure is utilised, leaving your organisation responsible for maintaining the facility’s hardware and server software.
Cloud
The software and data needed to run your facility is hosted by a service provider and can be accessed from anywhere through the web instead of your in-house IT infrastructure.
Mandalay’s Hybrid Cloud Solution
Software is deployed on local machines and in a hosted cloud environment. This means local versions of the software are installed on your machines, and it can be accessed on the cloud too.
Accountability and Control – Who is responsible for data maintenance and security?
On-Premises
Your organisation’s IT service is accountable for your data, and if a data loss, corruption or security incident were to happen to the hardware hosting that data, you run the risk of losing that data, amongst a number of other more serious risks. When data is hosted on-premises, it must be replicated back to a central store for reporting and analysis. This comes with associated replication technology costs.
Cloud
The cloud service provider is accountable for the data, not your organisation. With the ability to undertake data replication, backups and recovery, cloud computing environments incorporate good data protection practices by default compared to on-premises which requires capability and effort to match the cloud offerings.
Mandalay’s Hybrid Cloud Solution
Mandalay’s proprietary data synchronisation tool, DataSync, offers the security of data replication while being designed to work well in even low bandwidth and unstable WAN environments. On-premises machines are linked with the cloud-based components and changes made either in the cloud or on-site are replicated multi-directionally. DataSync also offers substantially improved record level auditing and permanent retention of all data changes for auditing purposes.
Security and Privacy – Keeping your data secure
On-Premises
Your organisation is responsible for setting your own level of security and privacy. If your organisation does not have effective backup and disaster recovery systems already in place, you may be prone to hacking, data breaches and data loss.
Cloud
Through effective backup, disaster recovery and threat protection, your software company will be able to provide a level of security that is likely to be greater than what your individual organisation can achieve.
Mandalay’s Hybrid Cloud Solution
Mandalay’s data synchronisation tool, DataSync, will ensure that your on-premises and remote PCs are synchronised with a cloud-based master database, so if hardware fails data isn’t lost. Data is stored within Australian data centres located in Sydney and Melbourne.
All user access to the platform is managed by your data administrators, ensuring that you manage exactly who has access and the information that they can access.
Continuing to improve the service and product that we offer, Mandalay is currently undergoing certification for ISO 27001 (Information Security Management) and 27017 (Cloud Specific Controls) to offer you even greater peace of mind.
Remote Access to Applications and Data – Access to data and software from any location
On-Premises
Remote access is possible with remote solutions; however, it is completely dependent on your business to be able to supply and facilitate this functionality.
Cloud
Through the cloud, you can access and use your software and data from any location. This also opens the possibility of being able to access data from across multiple locations.
Mandalay’s Hybrid Cloud Solution
Whilst we have retained the best parts of an on-premises solution our hybrid cloud solution also offers native remote access as part of the solution. Assuming users have been granted the required product access, they can remotely access any applications from any location.
Managing Data from Multiple Facilities – Access to data from multiple facilities
On-Premises
If your organisation runs multiple facilities at different physical locations, you would need to host and manage data at each separate location. With on-premises solutions, centralisation of data and aggregation of data for multiple facilities is the responsibility of your business.
Mandalay’s Hybrid Cloud Solution
Whilst not explicitly cloud functionality, it would be very common for centralisation of multiple facility data to be a part of a cloud solution.
Cloud
Data captured across your multiple facilities will become accessible without the need to manually aggregate data. Integrate, dissect, model and report across all locations seamlessly through a single, secure, role-based access point. Mandalay’s hybrid cloud solution gives the cloud benefit of data centralisation and aggregation, whilst maintaining the on-premises benefit of internet and WAN independence.
Storage and Computer Scalability – Flexibility for future growth
On-Premises
Your organisation is responsible for managing your own on-premises data and storage requirements. The capital expenditure and capacity planning for storage and performance involved in meeting these requirements can be steep. Therefore, storage and scale are restricted by the physical infrastructure in place.
Cloud
Cloud computing can offer flexibility for future growth and a level of elastic capability that on-premises hosting cannot obtain. Depending on the service, it is possible to scale up and down to suit requirements such as end-of-month reporting or business acquisitions of new facilities.
Mandalay’s Hybrid Cloud Solution
With a hybrid cloud solution, you can scale to the cloud and pay for extra computing power only when needed. Your organisation only needs to pay for the resources you consume, and you can scale resources up and down as business demands change.
Mandalay’s hybrid cloud solution delivers increased scalability for both infrastructure as well as growth within your organisation. Depending on the service, it is possible to scale up and down to suit requirements such as end-of-month reporting or business acquisitions of new facilities.
Upgrading – Keeping software up to date
On-Premises
When software is stored and maintained on local machines, access to product updates and feature releases is limited and heavily reliant on time and resource constraints.
Cloud
Software versions are kept up to date automatically and new feature releases are delivered more often.
Mandalay’s Hybrid Cloud Solution
On-premises software updates are delivered using a deployment and release management tool, ensuring both components of the hybrid solution are maintained. Updates can take place outside of business hours, ensuring limited downtime and minimal or no on-site resources are required. Commissioning new local machines also becomes easier as on-boarding consists of a single step.
Disaster Recovery – Prevent unforeseen disasters
On-Premises
Data managed on-premises without an effective backup strategy in place can spell disaster if your infrastructure is damaged or becomes inaccessible during unforeseen disaster events.
Cloud
If local infrastructure is compromised or interrupted during a disaster event, data can still be accessed from other locations, which means limited or no disruption to your operations. Recovering from disaster becomes less of a concern as data, structures, and processes are all maintained within the cloud which has high levels of redundancy built in.
Mandalay’s Hybrid Cloud Solution
Disaster recovery for almost any scenario is more feasible with our hybrid solution. If your network connection goes down or your hardware fails, your data is maintained on both local PCs and in the cloud through our hybrid cloud solution. That means minimum downtime and the ability to continue work as normal if a problem occurs. Depending on the situation (e.g. natural disaster), commissioning new PCs or accessing data from different locations may provide additional options to maintain operations until normal business operation occurs.
It is time to upgrade your waste management software to an advanced hybrid cloud solution. Mandalay’s hybrid cloud solution is more reliable, secure and with less overheads than a deployed solution. It is also more available, resilient and efficient than a pure cloud offering.
Ready to make the switch? Contact us to find out more about how our hybrid solution can be implemented in your organisation.
