What's the Best Option for Investment Firms?
Private Cloud: Specialized Expertise
It’s Monday morning, 9:15am ET, the market is set to open in 15 minutes. Panic sets in, as you are unable to access your order management system. Scrambling about, you must decide which of the multitude of vendors to contact first that is able to fix your issue.
Relax, it’s a nightmare from the past. Your applications are connected in a private cloud-delivered environment, supported by a specialized vendor. That Monday morning fire-drill - the need to contact multiple parties to right the scenario – is a fleeting memory. With one call to your cloud provider, you ensure that a minor problem isn’t a costly one.
Private vs. Public Cloud: What’s the difference?
Unfortunately, that’s not the case for everyone. For those firms that are experiencing the Monday morning fire-drill, now is a great time to explore the benefits of the private vs. public cloud. Let’s start by establishing the difference between the two options:
- Public cloud is typified by large providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft® Azure, though there are many smaller, lesser-known providers. These are the most common, lowest cost deployment options for most businesses. In a public cloud, you share resources with other tenants, and access your services via the public internet.
- Private Cloud provides hardware and software that are dedicated to your business. Firms do not share them with other tenants. There are a few companies that operate their own private clouds in their own data centers, but the term more often refers to hosting in a third-party, off-site data center. You access your resources through a secure private network. Government agencies and business in highly regulated industries (such as financial services) usually favor private cloud deployment for reasons of control and security.
So, what are the benefits of the private cloud?
For investment firms that have specialized operational requirements and that work with sensitive, confidential client and financial data, private cloud deployment offers important advantages over the public cloud, including service, support, and security.
In a private cloud, operated by your technology solution provider, you can expect a more personalized service beyond infrastructure and hardware hosting, including ongoing system maintenance and upgrades, as well as 24/7 technical support. As for security, it is incumbent on the private cloud provider to ensure strong security measures, not only for the cloud environment but also at the product and process level. This allows for greater customization, visibility, and control.
As a Senior Manager of Business Systems, at a Private Wealth and Asset Management Firm explains in a recent case study, leveraging one provider, “…makes more sense. They have access to our environment and a lot more tools that integrate with the Advent platform. Advent Managed Services is giving us a lot more in terms of service than the other company was.”
Choosing a Partner to Meet Your Private Cloud Needs
If you recently experienced the Monday morning (or worse yet, Friday morning) fire drill, it’s time to evaluate your outsourcing options. There are countless benefits to outsourcing - reducing operational and compliance risks, offering scalability and flexibility, and allowing firms to focus on their core business; however, it can only be realized if your managed services partner can meet your firm's unique needs.
To better understand how managed services can strengthen your business plan, request a demo to explore outsourcing options with Advent Managed Services.
