The True (Hidden) Costs of Hosting Your CMS: On-Premises vs. Cloud
Partnering with a trusted CMS cloud provider for hosting infrastructure and operations can cut costs, reduce risk and accelerate your digital experience roadmap. Is it right for your company?
When it comes to choosing how to host your content management system (CMS) and digital experience (DX) platform, there’s no shortage of options to consider. You could keep everything in house by deploying your CMS on your own servers and infrastructure.
Or you could take a cloud-based approach, harnessing models like platform-as-a-service (PaaS), software-as-a-service (SaaS) or specialized partner hosting.
While running your own on-premises CMS might seem like the most straightforward and cost-effective choice, the reality is often more complicated. Sure, on-prem deployments give you total control over your environment, and the initial software and hardware costs can seem comparatively low.
But there’s a whole iceberg of hidden costs lurking beneath the surface—costs that can quickly sink your budget and productivity if you’re not careful.
In this article, we’ll take a comprehensive look at what it really costs to host your CMS, comparing on-premises deployments with various cloud-based alternatives. By the end, you’ll have a clearer picture of which model makes the most sense for your specific needs and constraints.
Understanding Your CMS Deployment Options
First, let’s define the key deployment models available for modern CMS and DX platforms:
On-Premises Deployment
With an on-premises deployment, you host the CMS on your own physical servers in your own data center. You’re responsible for everything from hardware provisioning and setup to ongoing software management, patching and troubleshooting. On-prem gives you maximum control over your environment, but also saddles you with the entire burden of keeping the lights on.
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) Deployment
PaaS is a cloud-based model that provides a pre-configured hosting environment for your CMS. The PaaS vendor takes care of core infrastructure elements like servers, storage, networking and security, while you handle the actual CMS application layer. PaaS gives you more flexibility than SaaS, but also entails more hands-on management than a fully abstracted offering.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Deployment
In a SaaS model, the CMS vendor hosts and manages the entire platform on their own cloud infrastructure. All you have to do is log in and start creating content. SaaS is the simplest deployment option from an end-user perspective, as it handles the noise of management options, prioritizing instant value and automating updates to the most current version, while still allowing you extensibility and control of the UI if you want it.
Partner Hosting
Partner hosting is a sort of hybrid model that combines elements of both on-prem and cloud. With partner hosting, a specialized managed services provider (MSP) hosts your CMS on dedicated infrastructure, either in their own data centers or in a third-party colocation facility. Depending on your arrangement, the partner may handle some or all day-to-day platform operations on your behalf.
Evaluating CMS Deployment Models: Key Capabilities and Considerations
With those definitions in mind, let’s look at how these deployment options stack up across some key capability areas:
Scalability, Redundancy and Performance
On-prem: Scaling an on-premises CMS is often a painful process. If you need more capacity to handle traffic spikes or growth, you have to go out and purchase new physical servers, provision them and integrate them into your environment. It’s a time-consuming and expensive undertaking. The same goes for providing redundancy and high availability. You need to invest in duplicate power, network and hardware infrastructure to avoid single points of failure.
PaaS/SaaS: One of the biggest advantages of cloud-based CMS deployments is effortless scalability. Need to spin up more server instances to handle a surge of visitors? Simply tweak your cloud configuration and let the platform do the rest. PaaS and SaaS offerings inherently build in redundancy too, so you don’t have to sweat availability.
Partner: Partner-hosted scalability and performance ultimately depend on the robustness of your provider’s infrastructure. If you go this route, make sure your partner has an enterprise-grade data center footprint and architecture that can grow with your needs. Some partners can also layer on additional performance optimization services.
Security, Compliance and Data Locality
On-prem: With an on-premises CMS, the buck stops with you when it comes to security and compliance. You have to handle everything from physical access controls and perimeter firewalls to software patching and vulnerability scanning. For businesses in heavily regulated industries, an on-prem model can be appealing since it gives you physical control over your data, but it also means you shoulder the full burden of compliance audits and certifications.
PaaS: In a PaaS model, security is a shared responsibility. The PaaS vendor secures the underlying infrastructure and abstracts away a lot of the cyberattack surface. But you’re still on the hook for things like application-level risks, user access controls and data encryption. PaaS providers may offer tools and features to make this easier, but you can’t fully outsource accountability.
SaaS: SaaS offers a more hands-off approach to security. These cloud providers bake security best practices into every layer of their platforms, and employ armies of engineers to perform continuous monitoring, testing and incident response on your behalf. Many also offer robust compliance certifications to satisfy industry-specific mandates. However, with SaaS you’re also relinquishing some control and visibility into your security posture.
Partner: Security and compliance in a partner-hosted model depends on your provider’s capabilities and practices. Most partners will provide a baseline level of physical and network security at their facilities. But you’ll want to carefully vet their track record, certifications and specific controls to verify that they meet your risk profile. Also consider how compliance and liability are shared between your organization and the partner.
Resilience Against DDoS and Cyber Threats
On-prem: Protecting your on-premises CMS against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks is a never-ending battle. To defend against DDoS attacks, you’ll likely need to invest in specialized appliances or cloud-based scrubbing services—and continually fine-tune them as attackers adapt. You’ll also need robust log monitoring, patch management and incident response capabilities to identify and repel targeted exploits and insider threats. It’s a full-time job, more often for an entire team depending on the complexity.
PaaS/SaaS: A major benefit of cloud-based CMS deployments is that you inherit world-class security from your provider. The likes of Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud have massive investments in cyber-defense infrastructure and expertise. They use advanced AI/ML to detect anomalies, absorb DDoS attacks at the network edge and auto-remediate many known vulnerabilities.
Partner: Again, a partner-hosted CMS is only as secure as the partner’s practices. Look for partners that employ defense-in-depth security strategies, with multiple layers of physical, network, host and application security controls. Ideally, they should also have a dedicated security operations center (SOC) monitoring for threats around the clock.
Operational Complexity and Required Expertise
On-prem: Running your own CMS infrastructure is a complex undertaking. It requires deep expertise across a wide range of disciplines: server hardware, storage and networking, virtualization, OS and database administration, application support, performance tuning and more. You’ll need a sizable team of specialists to keep everything running smoothly. And as your CMS scales, so too will the operational burden on your IT staff. Many on-prem customers schedule an upgrade every 12-18 months, limiting the advantages of new features and enhancements.
PaaS: PaaS abstracts away a lot of the low-level infrastructure complexity, allowing your team to focus more on the application layer. But you’ll still need skilled DevOps engineers to handle things like environment configuration, deployment pipelines, container orchestration and performance monitoring. PaaS also requires a shift in mindset from traditional IT ops. Upgrades in PaaS are usually preconfigured, but IT needs to promote the build, run the pipelines, do some testing to check for breaking changes, etc.
SaaS: SaaS is the simplest model from an operational perspective. The vendor handles pretty much everything related to infrastructure and application management. Your team can focus on creating content and experiences, rather than getting bogged down in the technical plumbing. However, this simplicity comes at the cost of reduced customization and control. SaaS upgrades are hands-off, basically always current, so users are able to capitalize on new capabilities early on.
Partner: Partner hosting can significantly reduce your operational burden, but the extent depends on the scope of services you contract. Some partners only provide the basic infrastructure, leaving you to manage the CMS application. Others offer fully managed services for both the underlying hosting and the CMS itself. The key is to find the right balance of self-service and partner assistance for your needs and budget.
The True Costs of Self-Hosting Your CMS
It’s easy to focus on the initial price tag of on-premises CMS licenses and hardware. But to really understand the economics of self-hosting, you need to account for the myriad ongoing and often hidden costs:
Sunk Infrastructure Costs
When you host your own CMS, you’re not just buying a few servers. You’re committing to an entire infrastructure stack—servers, storage arrays, hypervisors, networking equipment, power and cooling systems, physical security controls and more. These components require significant upfront capital expenditures (CapEx), and typically need to be refreshed every three to five years. You also need to build in excess headroom to handle future growth, which means you’re often paying for idle capacity.
Spiraling People Costs
The harsh reality is that managing CMS infrastructure is a 24/7/365 job. You’ll need a highly skilled team of administrators, engineers and support staff to keep everything running smoothly. And these roles command premium salaries, often north of $100K each. As your CMS environment grows more complex, so too will your staffing needs and costs. You’ll also need to budget for ongoing training and certifications to keep skills current.
Punishing Downtime Costs
Even with a top-notch IT team, on-prem infrastructure is prone to failures and outages. A single server crash, network glitch or power outage can bring your CMS to its knees. And in today’s always-on digital world, every minute of downtime translates into lost revenue, productivity and customer trust. Research estimates the average cost of IT downtime at a staggering $5,600 per minute (and that’s dependent on industry). Can you afford that?
Painful Upgrade Costs
On-prem CMS deployments tend to follow a “set it and forget it” cadence. But the longer you wait to upgrade your hardware and software, the more painful (and expensive) it becomes. Vendors eventually end support for older versions, leaving you vulnerable to reliability issues and security holes. Upgrading means provisioning new infrastructure, extensive and burdensome regression testing cycles, migrating content and customizations, training users and more. It’s a massive undertaking that distracts your team and disrupts your business.
Insidious Opportunity Costs
Perhaps the most overlooked cost of self-hosting your CMS is the opportunity cost. By sinking time, money and effort into undifferentiated infrastructure management, you’re stealing focus from the things that really drive your business forward, like creating great content and experiences for your customers. You’re paying your team to be server babysitters, not innovative digital leaders. And you’re hindering your ability to adapt quickly as the market evolves.
Seizing the Advantages of Cloud-Based CMS Hosting
For resource-strapped IT teams, offloading CMS hosting to a cloud or managed services partner can be a game-changer. By leaving the rough work of infrastructure management to a trusted provider, you can:
Reduce CapEx and Align Costs with Value
Cloud-based CMS hosting shifts spending from upfront CapEx to predictable, pay-as-you-go OpEx (operating expenditures). Instead of overprovisioning on-prem infrastructure based on murky growth forecasts, you can dial resources up and down as needed, and only pay for what you actually use. This agility is especially valuable for businesses with seasonal or unpredictable traffic patterns.
Increase Agility and Speed-to-Market
Standing up new CMS environments on-prem can take days or weeks, hampering your ability to spin up new campaigns and microsites quickly. Cloud platforms provide instant, self-service provisioning, enabling your team to move at the speed of your business. Need to launch a pop-up site for a flash sale or PR response? With cloud hosting, you can make it happen in minutes, not months.
Enhance Reliability and Uptime
As we’ve seen, on-prem infrastructure is inherently vulnerable to disruption. Cloud providers’ entire business models hinge on delivering ultra-reliable, high-performance hosting across geographically distributed data centers. They offer solid SLAs (often 99.99% or higher) and employ armies of engineers to monitor and optimize infrastructure around the clock. With a reputable cloud or managed hosting partner, you can achieve better CMS availability with far less operational heavy lifting.
Strengthen Security and Compliance
Keeping a CMS secure and compliant in the face of multiplying cyberthreats and data regulations is a massive undertaking for individual organizations. Cloud providers have the scale and expertise to implement constantly evolving security controls and practices. They can also shoulder much of the compliance burden for key mandates like PCI, HIPAA and GDPR, allowing you to inherit controls and offload audit scope.
Focus on Your Core Business
At the end of the day, hosting your own CMS is probably not your organization’s core competency or competitive differentiator. By outsourcing hosting to a trusted cloud or managed services partner, you can free up your team to focus on creating great digital experiences that drive customer engagement and revenue. You can redirect resources toward higher-order initiatives like IoT, AI and machine learning—basically the things that will really move the needle for your business in the years ahead.
Real-World Success Story
All this talk about the benefits of cloud-based CMS hosting is great, but you might be wondering: does it actually work in practice? Well, let’s take a look an organization that made the move and lived to tell the tale.InvestorCom
Let’s look at InvestorCom, a firm that manages websites for over 40 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Following a strategic shift, InvestorCom found itself with a reduced team struggling to keep up with a growing client base.
Implementing Progress Sitefinity Cloud proved to be a game-changer. With the new system, a team of just three people was able to deliver the same level of service that previously required a team of 40+.
Non-technical staff could now easily create and manage client websites without relying on developers. Plus, client sites remained performant and available, regardless of their complexity or traffic volume.
Perhaps most importantly, InvestorCom was able to significantly improve the client experience. The team could now quickly push out content updates and previews, keeping clients satisfied and engaged. You can read the full InvestorCom story here.
So there you have it. Two real-world examples of companies that have seen some serious benefits from taking their CMS to the cloud. Faster performance, happier marketers, more productive IT teams and better customer experiences all around. As you consider your own CMS hosting strategy, keep these success stories in mind—they might just be the inspiration you need to take the leap.
Charting Your Path Forward
Making the decision to move your CMS hosting from on-prem to a cloud or managed model can be daunting. It’s not just a technology shift, but a fundamental rethinking of how you deliver digital experiences.
Here are some key steps to get started:
- Assess your current state: Take an honest look at your CMS infrastructure and operations. How much are you really spending on hardware, software, facilities and staff? How well are you meeting your SLAs and growth needs? How vulnerable are you to capacity crunches and cyberthreats?
- Define your future state: Envision your ideal CMS hosting environment. What capabilities and outcomes are most important to your business? Higher agility and speed-to-market? Reliability and disaster recovery? Security and compliance? Rank your priorities.
- Explore your options: Research the various cloud and managed hosting options available for your CMS platform. What are the key differences between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS models? Which providers have the best track record and support for your specific needs?
- Build a business case: Quantify the potential cost savings and business benefits of moving to a cloud or managed model. Factor in both hard costs (e.g., reduced CapEx and OpEx) and soft benefits (e.g., faster time-to-market, improved reliability and freed-up staff time).
- Develop a migration plan: Create a phased roadmap for transitioning your CMS environment to the new model. Start with low-hanging fruit like dev/test environments, then gradually progress to more critical production workloads. Build in plenty of time for testing and risk mitigation.
- Rally stakeholders: Educate your leadership team and stakeholders on the business case for CMS replatforming. Paint a clear picture of the expected benefits and ROI. Proactively address any concerns around security, compliance or operational risk.
The Bottom Line
It’s time to confront the truth: self-hosting your CMS is not nearly as simple or cost-effective as it may seem. By the time you factor in all the hidden CapEx and OpEx costs—not to mention the mounting opportunity costs of diverting focus from digital experience innovation—the economics quickly fall apart.
For the vast majority of organizations, moving to a cloud or managed CMS hosting model just makes sense. By partnering with a trusted provider for hosting infrastructure and operations, you can cut costs, reduce risk and accelerate your digital experience roadmap. You can trade the headaches and hassles of CMS babysitting for the freedom and agility to create breakthrough customer experiences.
Of course, CMS replatforming is not a one-size-fits-all undertaking. The optimal model depends on your unique application requirements, IT capabilities and business goals. In some cases, particularly where data sovereignty or extreme customization are paramount, an on-premises deployment may still be the best fit. But for most organizations, the agility, cost efficiency and peace of mind of managed cloud hosting is simply too compelling to ignore.
So if you’re still clinging to an on-prem CMS because it’s the devil you know, it’s time to rethink your approach. With the right partners and planning, moving to the cloud can be just what your organization needs to excel.
