Which will be best to use with your next project? Will you be best sticking with dedicated servers or jumping onto the cloud bandwagon? Most of it boils down to what the application is and what the usage will be.
Not everyone can jump on the cloud wagon. This might be the latest and greatest thing but it might not be right for you. If we look at the pricing of cloud software, it is very cheap. The trap here is you are doing an apples to apples comparison. With cloud computing you are paying for the resources required by your instance. With a dedicated server you pay a flat rate regardless of how much of it you use. Do not fall into the usual hype that you only pay for what you use. This does not mean to say running your server only twelve hours a day is cheaper, it’s that your applications can grow as you grow. Launching a new application would just require a couple of extra nodes to handle the new load and once things have settled just kill them as you don’t need the resources. You would need to get new hardware set up which could take a few hours to a week, and then your time to set up the application on the server.
A cloud computing reseller will be unmanaged, but you can find that some providers will offer you a managed service, but this does not come cheaply. Whereas dedicated servers easier to come by in both a managed and unmanaged form. Like with a managed cloud platform expect to pay a premium for a managed dedicated server. For those experienced with running their own dedicated server, the unmanaged option is the best bet.
With regards to cost again, consider if you are just hosting a simple blog, a VPS would suffice. There are also companies that offer shared hosting packages within a cloud platform giving you the cheap cost of hosting with the easy scalability and reliability that clouds offer. Some providers will charge you on a per hour basis for your cloud platform, which is great and can make the pricing seem cheap. The can make it work out a lot more expensive than it could be. Where as other cloud providers can bill for the entire month and so does make your maths easier to work out. Of course with dedicated servers you are only going to get charged by the month.
However, if you have a big Facebook application you are due to launch, the cloud option definitely has to be best. Cloud software has the easy scalability that gives you the power on demand.It may be a good idea to get a small cloud for a month to allow you to test and investigate before choosing. This can let you learn how the cloud platform works and if your application would be suitable to host this way.
On the other hand you could start with a cloud environment, and if it is not for you, you could switch to a dedicated server. Time and effort will be your only cost. If you do your research in to both methods in detail thoroughly you cannot go wrong. Good luck with your future application and you end up with a big success on your hands.