Hey everyone! I'm a Fullstack Developer with limited sysadmin experience, and I'm currently working for a small MEP company of about 40 people. We're going through some financial restructuring, and the accountants have asked if we can cut down on our Azure costs, which are running between $3000 and $5000 a year for services like email, virtual machines, and blob storage. I'm considering self-hosting as an alternative, specifically either buying a Dell PowerEdge server or using a VPS, since we already have a NAS Synology for backups (a requirement here in Vietnam). My rough estimate for self-hosting would bring our costs down to under $800 a year. Given my background and the current setup, do you think this is a feasible solution? Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated!
5 Answers
Please think twice before jumping into self-hosting unless you're fully prepared. It sounds like a transfer of risk and responsibility, and if something goes wrong, it's all on you now. You're essentially becoming your own IT support. What happens if you’re ever unavailable?
Definitely! If downtime could be a concern, it might be better to look into managed services.
Honestly, I've gotta question whether self-hosting is actually cheaper in the long run. Think about all the hidden costs like redundant servers, networking gear, and maintenance. It seems like you're underestimating the total expenses if you decide to DIY this. Plus, it looks like you're doing fairly well with Azure; if you're considering downsizing, maybe look into optimizing your current setup before abandoning it altogether.
Totally! As a small business, every dollar counts, especially with our financial situation.
I get where you're coming from, but even our small team of 40 feels the pinch of those costs. If I just buy one PowerEdge for around $3000 and it lasts a decade, we could definitely save significant money.
Going for VPS might actually be a better option for you, considering your estimated costs. Just keep in mind that you might still need some support to set up everything correctly if you want to avoid future headaches.
I think it could be worth optimizing your current cloud setup first instead of jumping straight into on-prem. You might have oversized resources in Azure that could be trimmed down. Have you gone through your costs in detail to see where you might save money?
That’s a great point! I did check out some VPS providers and gathered quotes, aiming for specs around 16GB RAM and 1TB storage, which led me to that $800 estimate.
Just make sure you get accurate quotes and remember to factor in all necessary costs.
Before making the leap to self-hosting, consider whether you'll manage the server yourself. Given that you mentioned you're not a sysadmin, having to handle those responsibilities could become a massive stressor. Plus, you need to think about user load, especially when projects ramp up.
Yep, if this happens, I will take on that responsibility. Typically, the user load stays under 100, so it should be manageable.
It’s good that you’re aware of that, but just making sure you’re looking at the potential challenges ahead.
I totally see your point! It's something I need to weigh carefully before making a decision.