Giant corporations, small businesses, and even individual users are all searching for an ideal hosting solution. Online presence is crucial nowadays, so it is essential to understand the significant differences between UK based dedicated server hosting and cloud hosting. If this topic interests you, you will get all the needed information about the pluses and minuses of both solutions and some recommendations about the choice.  

Dedicated server and its peculiarities

This hosting solution fully orients on a client and offers access to the dedicated resources for the website, software, or app. The dedicated server lets clients manage everything according to their business requirements. Such a server is usually needed if the traffic is high, so small businesses will not benefit from this choice.

Some peculiarities of the dedicated servers:

• Higher security level. The security of the dedicated server is high that’s why most users store sensitive data related to payments, emails, and other personal information. This solution gives complete control of the available resources, so adding additional protection mechanisms is possible, which is crucial.
  
  
• Higher traffic volumes. The dedicated server is the only available variant for substantial traffic volumes.
  
  
• Control over the resources. Users can manage everything according to their needs and install any software without restriction from the web provider.
  
  
• Less downtime. Downtime is essential for a variety of reasons and one of them is the loading of pages.
  
  
• Bette performance. With the dedicated hosting solution, you will be more reliable and stable.

Cloud server and its benefits

The cloud hosting solution doesn’t have a physical server because it functions in a computing environment. The functionality of this type is similar to the dedicated server and runs apps and stores data. Let’s discuss a couple of the benefits of this solution:

• Scalability. The primary benefit of cloud hosting is the easiness of scalability. Any user can quickly increase/decrease the number of needed resources.
  
  
• Simple configuration. Due to the user-friendly control panel, clients with minimal technical skills can quickly configure a server.
  
  
• Regular backups. You can select the needed time frame during which backups will be done. So, the data will always be protected, and you can access the required information.
  
  
• Budget. Cloud hosting solutions a way cheaper when compared with dedicated servers.
  
  
• No overpaying. Users are not overpaying for any additional resources, they are only investing in the used ones.

The differences between Dedicated and Cloud hosting solutions  

The fundamental diversity in these solutions is that one has an actual physical server, whereas cloud hosting functions based on the virtual environment. These options have the same services but differ when discussing budget, scalability, and migration.

If you prioritize fast processing, you should consider the dedicated server’s choice. This type of hosting solution has better data access because the server’s processors only deal with your site/app. At the same time, all the requests from the cloud server are going via the storage area/SAN, which can lead to minimal delay.

The next factor is the management of the servers. With a dedicated server, you are fully responsible for all the processes requiring deep technical knowledge. Of course, you can choose a managed server, but that will be expensive. The cloud servers are way easier when talking about maintenance.

The processes of scalability are also various in these solutions. For instance, cloud servers are easily scalable due to the virtual environments. That’s why, the upgrade and downgrade can be made quickly and relatively cheap. With the dedicated servers, the process needs more resources and additional planning. Because of some complexities, it can take some time.

What is better to choose?

Cloud servers are ideal for:

• Email servers
• Apps and websites with moderate volumes of traffic
• Small companies that don’t want to overpay

Dedicated servers are for those who:

• Access sensitive information (payments, names, addresses, and more)
• Huge apps or sites with high-traffic volumes
• Apps that require more RAM, CPU, and disk space

Conclusion   

Dedicated servers are more expensive, but users get better security and dedicated resources. That’s why high-traffic websites will win when choosing this option. If you have budget limitations, you’d better orient toward a cloud server, as this option is cheaper. If you still don’t know what to choose, it is possible to start using the cloud hosting solution and once you need more resources and the traffic volume will increase, you can easily switch to the dedicated server. The primary recommendation is – to try to orient your current needs and change the hosting plan accordingly.