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When deciding between cloud computing and traditional IT infrastructures for your chip development, you should consider several factors. Scalability, reliability, security, cost-efficiency, and control can all affect your design process.
Below are the pros and cons of cloud computing vs. traditional IT infrastructure.
Pros and Cons of The Cloud
Pros
Scalability. The cloud offers much more scalability than traditional data centers do. On the cloud, you have access to nearly unlimited storage space and server resources. Depending on the size of your workload, you can scale your cloud servers up or down. You also have the ability to customize the environment and scale to meet your specific needs.
Resiliency. By design, the cloud hosts information and applications on distributed servers that are all connected, so they work together as one. This architecture eliminates single points of failure, which in turn make the data and applications in the cloud more resilient. You also have much more storage space and computing power in the cloud, which allows for faster software and apps.
Management. The storage provider handles hosting in the cloud. Additionally, cloud vendors manage infrastructure. They maintain all of the hardware and ensure smooth operations of the underlying infrastructure. They also keep security measures in place so everything runs smoothly.
Cost. Cloud computing cuts the need for maintaining your own IT infrastructure. Everything is available as a service. For example, with the cloud, you won’t require expensive hardware or backup solutions, as both are available as part of the cloud service offering. Service providers also usually have much larger infrastructures than you would have in-house. The cloud can significantly expand your computing resources while reducing your capital outlay.
Cons
Control. Cloud service providers own, manage, and monitor the cloud infrastructure. Thus, you have minimal control over it. The cloud allows you to manage apps, data, and services, but you won't be able to access key administrative features such as updating firmware or entering the server shell.
Downtime. As with any IT setup, the cloud can face problems like reboots, network outages, and downtime. These events can have an impact on your business because they disrupt operations and processes if you solely depend on the cloud. You should make sure you plan for cloud outages on the off chance one occurs.
Even with these potential downsides in mind, the benefits of the cloud environment easily outweigh the disadvantages.
Pros and Cons of Traditional IT
Pros
Data. Data privacy is one of the biggest pros of traditional IT infrastructure. Because you store your data locally, you have complete control over it. You then don't need to worry about sensitive data leaving your company. Especially when it comes to compliance, data protection can be a huge advantage.
Security. It's easier to ensure only approved personnel can access stored applications and data with traditional IT infrastructure. Data centers are physically connected to your local network. Your IT department can manage them round-the-clock. It does take a lot of time and money, however, to ensure you have the right security strategies and data recovery systems in place.
Control. Traditional IT gives IT departments complete control over their infrastructure. The IT staff is responsible for troubleshooting, changes, updates, and maintenance. A business with this IT model could exercise a lot of flexibility, as the on-site staff determine the function and execution of services.
Cons
Resiliency. Traditional IT systems require higher investment in the infrastructure to be as resilient as the cloud. Therefore, they cannot guarantee a consistently high level of server performance or data backup. Also, traditional IT often lacks Infrastructure-as-a-service to architect application resilience.
Scalability. With traditional IT infrastructure, you can only use what you have. Growth requires pre-planning, approval cycles, purchase processes, installations, and deployments. You have only one solution if you run out of storage: rent or buy another server. Also, if you hire more employees, you must pay for more licenses and deployments. You also must manually upload these employees onto your office hardware. If your business is growing fast, such an investment in people and infrastructure can become very expensive and time-consuming.
Cost. With traditional IT infrastructure, you will need to buy more servers and equipment if you decide to grow your business. These investments depreciate over time. Consequently, you must pay for the resources you don't use if business slows. Physical servers also reduce in value with time and may not meet evolving performance demands unless you continuously invest to refresh them. Investing in traditional IT infrastructure has a poor return on investment.
Overall, traditional IT infrastructure presents more obstacles today than the cloud does. Traditional IT is more complex, requiring long-term planning and upfront investments. The cloud allows for the flexibility you need to get started quickly and grow with little investment upfront.
Synopsys Has You Covered
Both cloud computing and traditional IT infrastructure face their own set of challenges. But when it comes to developing chips, Synopsys has you covered either way. We have industry-leading on-premises and cloud-based tools to help you meet your evolving business demands and sustain your workflow.
Synopsys, EDA, and the Cloud
Synopsys is the industry’s largest provider of electronic design automation (EDA) technology used in the design and verification of semiconductor devices, or chips. With Synopsys Cloud, we’re taking EDA to new heights, combining the availability of advanced compute and storage infrastructure with unlimited access to EDA software licenses on-demand so you can focus on what you do best – designing chips, faster. Delivering cloud-native EDA tools and pre-optimized hardware platforms, an extremely flexible business model, and a modern customer experience, Synopsys has reimagined the future of chip design on the cloud, without disrupting proven workflows.
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Synopsys technology drives innovations that change how people work and play using high-performance silicon chips. Let Synopsys power your innovation journey with cloud-based EDA tools. Sign up to try Synopsys Cloud for free!
About The Author
Venkata Ravella is vice president of Information Technology at Synopsys, where he leads a world-class IT infrastructure team that has built large-scale engineering and business infrastructure on private and public clouds. Over the last 25+ years, he has held various roles in IT, with the majority of his time focused on engineering environment and infrastructure. He has in-depth experience building high-performing engineering environments, both on-prem and in-cloud, with an emphasis on reliability, scalability, and security at their core.
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