Why Use an Outsourced Node Infrastructure Provider?

This is the second installment in our educational series on node infrastructure and its importance to the blockchain ecosystem. Please find a link to our last piece “What is Node Infrastructure”, here

While history doesn’t necessarily repeat itself, it often rhymes

In the case of node infrastructure, we can look to the shift from on-prem to cloud computing as an indicative case study. At the advent of cloud computing (late 2000s), it was unimaginable for companies, large and small, to entrust their computing infrastructure to external providers. The conventional wisdom was that having on-prem servers provided companies with more control (and safety) over their infrastructure.

With the rise of AWS and other cloud stalwarts, this approach turned on its head — companies realized that running their own infrastructure wasn’t strategic to their business. As a result, companies ditched their expensive on-prem deployments for outsourced providers that were cheaper, more scalable, and, in fact, safer. Today, more than 60% of corporate data is stored in the cloud.

Similar to this data center shift, our industry is poised for a comparable transformation. Companies operating in Web3 want to focus on their core applications without the burden of managing their own node infrastructure. Inevitably, Web3 will follow the same path, leveraging external providers to streamline their workflows and fully concentrate on their primary objectives.

Costs of running a node without an external provider

Similar to the extensive technical skills and resources required to maintain on-prem data centers, running a node is very demanding. Setting up a single node can consume the time of multiple experienced DevOps engineers. Further, there is considerable ongoing monitoring and regular maintenance that is required to keep each node operational. For example, the physical hardware costs along with the necessary DevOps maintenance can cost in excess of $200,000+ per year. For small companies focused on building applications, managing their entire node infrastructure internally is a massive impediment and becomes impractical.

In comparison, professional node operators, like Validation Cloud, can cost 95% less, allowing companies to focus on building their applications.

Benefits of using an external provider

Outsourcing node infrastructure not only enables companies to focus on their strategic capabilities but also enhances overall performance and experience. Node infrastructure providers offer users:

1. Cheaper Costs: Using a node provider dramatically lowers the cost of accessing a node. Outsourced node infrastructure providers enable cost savings as they eliminate the need for upfront investments in high-spec hardware, headcount, and the ongoing expenses associated with expensive bandwidth requirements.
2. Expertise: There is a lot to consider when it comes to running your own nodes. You need to constantly make sure that the node software is up to date, configured correctly, running on the latest hardware and more. Outsourced node providers handle all of this for you, so you can focus on other aspects of your business. This vastly simplifies the experience and frees up your time to focus on what you do best
3. Redundancy: Redundancy refers to the presence of additional nodes that are implemented to ensure uninterrupted operation and minimize the chances of failure or downtime. This means if one component fails, another can take over seamlessly, maintaining the network’s functionality and integrity.

Why choose Validation Cloud as your outsourced node infrastructure provider?

Validation Cloud’s speed, scale, and resilience set it apart from other node infrastructure providers:

1. Hyper resilience: With a 99.9% uptime, Validation Cloud goes a step further than legacy node infrastructure providers by implementing self-healing automated systems and lightning-fast smart-routing networks to minimize any downtime.
2. Fast connectivity: Validation Cloud delivers significantly faster read/write and propagation speeds compared to user-architected setups, faster than the industry average. Validation Cloud consistently ranks as the fastest node infrastructure provider according to third party benchmarkers like CompareNodes.
3. Access to more networks: While major blockchains are covered by various node infrastructure providers, new networks are constantly emerging, often requiring months for user onboarding. Validation Cloud expedites this process, supporting new networks in just a few weeks.

Companies, large and small, aspire to focus on their core business operations without wasting time on areas outside their expertise. We have witnessed this trend unfold previously with cloud storage, and this time will be no different. If you want a deeper dive into why infrastructure matters, read our series on the importance of superior Web3 infrastructure.

About Validation Cloud

Validation Cloud is a Web3 data streaming and infrastructure company that connects organizations into Web3 through a fast, scalable, and intelligent platform. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Validation Cloud offers highly performant and customizable products in staking, node, and data-as-a-service. Learn more at Validationcloud.io | LinkedIn | X | Medium