Cost analysis of on-premise versus cloud-based implementation of moodle in Kufa University during the pandemic

Abstract

Many organizations often use physical hardware resources, such as storage devices and firewall, to store their essential applications and data. Recently, the Coronavirus pandemic represented a significant challenge for the University of Kufa, which utilize an on-premise data center for e-learning since 2009. Whether the learning management system (LMS) is installed on an on-premise data center or the cloud, it is crucial for any university, to decide which implementation is more suitable because of the differences between the two options, especially in terms of cost. This study uses the total cost of ownership (TCO) model to highlight the cost aspect when using on-premise datacenter versus cloud-based implementation for e-learning and to determine which option is cost effective. The results may help other universities, inside or outside Iraq, deciding which implementation is more suitable (financially) for the organization. The final results show that the cloud-based solution costs approximately 20% less than the currently used on-premise option. Despite all drawbacks of on-premise datacenter such as unstable electricity, bad Internet service, and costing more than cloud hosting, it maybe still more convenient in the case of the University of Kufa due to the sensitive data stored in the data center.