SharePoint On-Premise vs Online: A Head-to-Head Comparison
The world today is full of advanced tools and technologies that seek to help citizens and businesses perform and execute various tasks with enhanced ease. And yet, amidst this abundance of new-age tools and solutions, one name stands out: Microsoft SharePoint, a web-based collaborative platform that brings together various technologies and tools to facilitate content management, document sharing, and collaboration within organizations.
SharePoint has emerged as the cornerstone for collaborative content management for businesses. It enables teams to effectively share, organize, and collaborate on documents and data. And, with the evolution of technology, Microsoft offers two primary deployment options for SharePoint: On-Premises and Online.
With this blog, I’ll offer a comprehensive comparison between SharePoint On-Premises and SharePoint Online, delving into their respective capabilities and considerations to help you make an informed decision that aligns with your business’s collaboration & content management strategies.
What is Microsoft SharePoint?
Microsoft SharePoint s a centralized platform where companies’ teams can store, access, organize, and collaborate on documents, data, and information. It is a robust platform that facilitates organization content management, collaboration, and document sharing. SharePoint On-Premises is installed and managed on local servers that help organizations with complete control over data & security. On the other hand, SharePoint Online is a cloud-based solution. Hosted on Microsoft’s servers, providing flexibility, scalability & automatic updates. Interestingly, both versions offer powerful features to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and foster seamless teamwork that caters to diverse business needs and preferences.
Difference Between SharePoint On-Premise vs. Online
Listed below are the main differences between the SharePoint On-Premise and Online versions based on a handful of essential factors. Let’s go.
1. Cost: With SharePoint On-Premise, the upfront cost includes purchasing server hardware, licenses, and ongoing maintenance costs. Organizations must invest in infrastructure and IT staff to manage the environment. Whereas SharePoint Online, a cloud-based service available as part of Microsoft 365 subscription plans, is offered on a subscription model, with users typically billed per user. Besides SharePoint Online, your cost includes access to other Microsoft 365 services such as Microsoft Teams and Exchange Online. It must also be noted that SharePoint Online companies do not have to invest in software updates, maintenance, infrastructure costs, etc.
2. Dedicated hardware: When you opt for an On-Premise deployment, you must procure and maintain reliable hardware infrastructure, such as storage systems, network equipment, and servers. This translates into an initial capital investment as well as continued maintenance costs. But organizations also have total control over the hardware specifications, which means performance can be optimized based on the company’s specific needs. About SharePoint Online, it is hosted on Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, so you do not need to purchase or maintain any servers. To cut a long story short, you do not need dedicated hardware with SharePoint Online.
3. Data storage: With On-Premise, companies get 100 percent control over data storage, meaning they can choose the storage solutions that meet their company’s unique requirements, third-party or local storage solutions. This is not the case with SharePoint Online since it includes storage as part of the Microsoft 365 subscription. However, the amount of storage available will depend on the subscription plan and the number of licensed users.
4. Infrastructure and updates: With SharePoint On-Premise, the responsibility for setting up and maintaining the entire infrastructure, including servers, databases, and networking components, lies with the organization itself. This does not hold for SharePoint Online because it is Microsoft handles a fully managed service, i.e. the infrastructure and updates. This means organizations do not have to deal with the burden of infrastructure management.
No matter which one you should opt for will entirely depend on factors unique to your business requirements. Anyway, no matter which one you choose, you can always engage SharePoint development services to customize your deployment option further.
