By: Kellie Hanna-Miller

 

In today’s digital age, cybersecurity is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s a necessity. The growing sophistication of cyberattacks, combined with the increasing amount of sensitive business data, means that companies can no longer afford to treat security as an afterthought. Whether you're a mid-sized manufacturer or a global enterprise, securing your IT infrastructure is one of the most critical components of maintaining business continuity, customer trust, and long-term success.

 

While many organizations still rely on traditional on-premise systems, the tide is rapidly turning toward cloud hosting. One of the key reasons? Security. Simply put, when it comes to keeping your data safe, the cloud has the edge.

 

Let’s explore why cloud security surpasses on-premise capabilities—and why now is the time to consider making the move.

1. Dedicated Resources That Never Sleep

Most on-premise IT teams—no matter how skilled—face limited resources. Managing day-to-day system operations, supporting users, deploying updates, troubleshooting bugs, and enforcing security protocols is a massive undertaking. It’s difficult to dedicate full-time resources solely to security, especially in smaller IT departments where team members juggle many responsibilities.

On the other hand, cloud vendors operate with a laser focus on security. These companies invest heavily in specialized security teams, threat analysts, and advanced technologies. They run 24/7 security operations centers (SOCs), constantly scanning for vulnerabilities, detecting anomalies, and responding to threats in real-time. They also have access to broader datasets and threat intelligence than any single enterprise IT department could ever gather.

This always-on vigilance is a level of protection that’s extremely difficult—and costly—for most businesses to replicate internally.

2. Automated Patching

One of the leading causes of data breaches today is unpatched software. Whether it's an outdated operating system, an unpatched server, or legacy application code, vulnerabilities left unchecked are low-hanging fruit for cybercriminals.

Unfortunately, manual patching in an on-premise environment can be slow, inconsistent, and error-prone. Patches are often delayed because of change management procedures, system dependencies, or limited staff availability. And when systems remain unpatched, they become open doors to attacks.

Cloud vendors flip this paradigm.

They leverage automation and orchestration to ensure systems are continuously updated and patched across their infrastructure. Security fixes can be deployed quickly and efficiently—often without customer intervention—reducing the window of exposure and helping prevent zero-day exploits.

What would take weeks or months in an on-premise setup can be addressed within hours in the cloud.

3. Built-In Security Features

Many cloud platforms are designed with security baked in. Rather than layering on security after the fact, cloud environments offer integrated, enterprise-grade features that are ready to use out of the box:

• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
  Easily enable multifactor authentication to protect user access, adding an extra layer of identity verification beyond passwords.
• End-to-End Encryption
  Data can be encrypted both at rest and in transit, making it far more difficult for unauthorized users to access or intercept sensitive information.
• Access Control and Role-Based Permissions
  Clearly define who can access what, based on roles and responsibilities—without needing complex manual setups.
• Security Monitoring and Analytics
  Advanced cloud platforms offer visibility into system activity, flagging suspicious behavior and offering audit trails for compliance.
• Compliance Certifications
  Leading cloud providers often maintain compliance with global standards (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, ITAR, and CMMC), helping your business meet industry regulations more easily.

These features would be time-consuming and expensive to implement independently—but they’re included in many modern cloud hosting packages.

4. Resilience Against Evolving Threats

Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving. From ransomware and phishing to insider threats and nation-state attacks, the landscape changes every day. Staying ahead of these threats requires continuous investment in research, tools, and skills.

Cloud vendors have the scale and agility to adapt faster than most internal IT departments. They can deploy next-generation security tools such as AI-powered threat detection, behavioral analytics, and anomaly detection to identify and respond to suspicious activity proactively.

They also invest in security R&D—constantly improving defense mechanisms, developing new countermeasures, and collaborating with global threat intelligence communities to stay ahead of the curve.

By moving to the cloud, businesses benefit from that ongoing innovation without needing to build it themselves.

5. Disaster Recovery and Backup Security

A secure system is not just about preventing attacks—it’s also about being prepared when something goes wrong. Whether it’s a cyberattack, natural disaster, or hardware failure, recovery is critical.

Cloud hosting typically includes robust disaster recovery and backup services as part of the offering. Data can be automatically backed up to geographically dispersed data centers, ensuring continuity even in the event of a localized incident. These backups are encrypted and protected, and recovery can be initiated quickly—minimizing downtime and data loss.

In contrast, many on-premise systems rely on manual or periodic backups, which may be vulnerable to the same issues that impact the primary systems.

6. Security as a Service

With cloud hosting, security isn’t just a set of tools—it’s a managed service. That means your vendor is responsible for much of the heavy lifting, giving your internal IT team the freedom to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Think of it as outsourcing the infrastructure layer of your security to a trusted expert. You’re still in control of your data, access policies, and application logic, but the foundational security is handled by a provider with the scale, experience, and resources to do it better.

That’s a win-win—especially for companies looking to scale, stay compliant, or optimize IT spend.

 

Conclusion: Why It’s Time to Move Beyond On-Premise

The reality is security is a team sport—and the cloud gives you a world-class team. While traditional on-premise systems may still serve some use cases, they simply can’t keep up with the scale, automation, and sophistication that cloud hosting providers bring to the table.

If your organization is still relying on internal resources to manage critical infrastructure security, it may be time to rethink your strategy.

At Apptrix, we specialize in secure, scalable cloud hosting solutions built for manufacturers. Whether you're running Infor VISUAL, CloudSuite Industrial (CSI), or other mission-critical systems, we deliver a cloud experience that puts security first—so you can focus on growing your business without worrying about the next threat.

 

Ready to strengthen your security posture?

Contact us today to learn how we can help you transition safely to the cloud.