Once you have selected your office space, it is important to evaluate the limitations of the new space alongside your budget and firm’s projected growth plan. The pros and cons of each technology set up should be mapped out and thoroughly evaluated. Start-up hedge funds typically must decide between utilizing the cloud, on premise services, or a hybrid approach. Today, many new hedge funds are selecting the cloud for a variety of reasons, including lower start-up costs, enhanced scalability and greater cost efficiencies.
While not an all-encompassing list, below are some factors to consider when deciding between on-site servers and the private cloud. Keep in mind that many firms also employ a hybrid technology approach, which utilizes a mix of on-site servers, private cloud and public cloud.
On-Site Servers
- High energy consumption, so electrical costs must be factored into the budget
- Average solid server has several components, including socketed processors, dual power supplies, hard drivers and RAID Arrays
- Release warm air and require constant cooling
- Must be replaced every five years
- More efficient for housing larger capacity files and bandwidth-prohibitive operations
The Private Cloud
- Provides the ability to provision machines, change computing resources on demand and create multiple machines for complex computing jobs
- Lower start-up costs and often more cost effective, with resources paid for as they are consumed
- Performance is highly dependent on internet connection speed and requires significant bandwidth
A technology partner can advise you on how to design a technology infrastructure that supports both your current and long term goals, maximizes your office space for the best performance and provides the greatest cost efficiency.
