Comment faire le choix de son infrastructure IT ? Quand elle a été choisie au gré des évolutions technologiques ou des effets d’annonces, l’infrastructure informatique peut devenir un complexe très hétérogène : une base de données par ici, une application par-là, une intégration jamais terminée… De quoi alourdir la charge de travail des métiers. Et, cerise sur le gâteau, de prendre plus de risques face aux cyberattaques.

But is it really that important to rethink your choice of IT infrastructure? Yes, because an aging infrastructure is the opposite of the agility and flexibility that will prepare the company for tomorrow's world. But there's no moralizing here. Instead, let's look at the elements to take into account and the existing solutions to know why and how to migrate your IT infrastructure.

Le bon choix de son infrastructure IT intègre les ressources, les environnements et la stratégie

The human being remains at the center of the decision

The first thing to look at is your team. What skills does it have? What are the upcoming recruitments? What is the team's level of maturity? If it relies on its internal resources, the IT department must adapt its choices. However, the company can reach its objective more quickly if it engages service providers to provide the missing skills, either on a one-off basis or for a longer period.

Constraints also have a place in the thinking

Banking, healthcare, insurance (see our article dedicated to the challenges facing the insurance industry in 2024)... Sectors with strong regulatory constraints are subject to a second limit: legislation. When the data at stake is sensitive, it is subject to more stringent legislation, forcing entities to organize the space in which they access said data. Not all sectors organize their IT infrastructure in the same way. We have written an article on healthcare data and the RGPD.

Lorsque l’infrastructure historique bloque les évolutions, le changement d’un petit élément peut apporter assez de souffle aux métiers pour libérer le management et revoir sa façon de travailler. Par exemple, l’entreprise peut faire le choix de son infrastructure IT bimodale, mélange de Cloud et d’infrastructure monolithique, qui modernise sans tout renouveler. Un accès aux API lui offre également la possibilité de simplifier ses procédures tout en respectant les contraintes de lois.

Le ROI dans la ligne de mire pour le choix de son infrastructure IT

Dans un monde en mouvement constant, on peut se demander l’intérêt de changer d’infrastructure informatique. Rester à jour, oui, mais pour combien de temps ? Faudra-t-il tout repenser dans 5 ans ? Renouveler son infrastructure informatique représente un coût considérable, comme le montre Gartner qui évalue les dépenses à 3,9 milliards de dollars en 2021. La DSI ne souhaite probablement pas investir à (trop) court terme. Surtout lorsque l’entreprise éponge encore les dommages de la crise Covid. Le choix de son infrastructure IT doit donc répondre à une stratégie technologique, mais aussi financière.

Faut-il faire le choix de son infrastructure on-premise ou Cloud ?

38% of executives talk about pressure on IT teams to migrate to Cloud. But on-premise has not said its last word. For reasons of legislation, security or speed, it remains the preferred choice.

Conduct an audit to gain a better understanding of the situation and chart a course for the future

Let's stop with the ready-made solution, let's first take stock of the current IT infrastructure by looking at :

• His level;
• Its evolutions;
• Team and user management;
• Incidents;
• Availability

The audit is designed to help you make the right choice of IT infrastructure, not just the most enticing solution.

What are the differences with respect to data management?

When it comes to the proximity between data and applications, an on-premise system is best so that the two elements are physically close. Dave Nielsen, head of ecosystems at Redis Labs, explains it well:

"Big data collections can take hours or even days to move from a data center to cloud. On-premise applications working with big data need to be located close to the data, where they can better interact with the data."

Another point of difference: data backups. In the cloud, these are more recurrent and managed directly by the Cloud provider, becoming a differentiating element according to the company's strategy.

What are the differences in costs?

When looking at the distribution of budgets, there are many variables between the two types of structures:

1. The current and future size of the IT infrastructure. If it is not intended to change, the optimum ROI for investment in an on-premise infrastructure is around 3 to 5 years. Cloud is the solution of choice to meet the need for flexibility and scalability, as it can handle variations in infrastructure size while smoothing out costs.
2. The hardware: the preference is clearly for Cloud since it does not represent a budget, at least, not isolated.
3. The ISP: it is quite transparent when you have an in-house infrastructure. On Cloud, it requires a higher throughput, therefore a higher cost.
4. Ancillary costs: the data center and its maintenance, air conditioning or electricity are to be considered on site. Remotely, they represent nothing more than the cost of the subscription.

Depending on the distribution of budgets, the cash available at the time and the possibilities of evolution, the choice will be made for one or the other IT infrastructure.

What are the differences in terms of security?

The on-premise infrastructure is preferred to store sensitive data and historical applications that cannot be sent to cloud. However, it is not immune to the risk of physical incidents. If the infrastructure is not replicated, in whole or in part, all is lost.

When the IT department targets an infrastructure Cloud, its mission is to question the security measures: hosting location, certifications, audits, cybersecurity experts...

To keep up with today's world and anticipate tomorrow's, thinking about your IT infrastructure is a must. The most important thing is not to choose the solution that makes the most noise, but the one that best suits your own parameters. To help you in your choice, ask our team your questions.