With the cloud boom, an increasing number of companies are considering moving their business to the cloud as the move appears to help businesses not only improve work efficiency but also reduce costs operational. However, the findings indicate that, under current circumstances, the portability of cloud-based businesses is limited (Armbrust et al., 2010). Compared to the potential expense a company might face, the benefits it would derive might appear less attractive. Evidence regarding costs, efficiency and safety is shown and discussed to reach a conclusion. One of the most crucial reasons why a business chooses cloud computing is cost. Some research has stated that cloud computing is cost-effective because it is charged based on consumption (Brumec and Vrcek, 2013). This means that a user will pay the amount equal to the user's usage. Vanmechelen et al. (2013) believes that such a model will provide flexibility that will ensure the user avoids overinvestment. However, this statement fails to explain some phenomena of reality. Set MemSQL, which is a San Francisco company, as an example. When MemSQL first started, it was powered by Amazon.com's cloud computing, just like most Silicon Valley tech companies did. But it gave up using Amazon's cloud just two years after its founding and returned most of its operations to traditional computers. Eric Frenkiel, CEO of MemSQL, announced that the reason he moved out of the cloud is that Amazon's invoices are getting bigger and bigger. “I'm not a big believer in public cloud. It is not effective in the long term,” he said (Metz, 2013). Frenkiel's word can only express his opinion. Based on what MemSQL has experienced, ...... middle of paper ...... ds are still provided by some types of cloud providers. Only a few have the financial capacity to build their own cloud. Nonetheless, a cloud could hardly avoid being attacked by cybercriminals. In summary, cloud computing may not be cost-effective, especially in some circumstances. For businesses that are already of a certain size, the initial investment to move to the cloud could be substantial thanks to the extraordinary database. Once an organization is involved in the cloud, this means that it will rely on the cloud to some extent. Your organization's efficiency may suffer from a delay in technical support. Even some practical cases (MemSQL, Zynga and Uber) show that the cloud is not suitable for long-term business operations. Furthermore, a business may suffer a major loss due to cloud security issue. Therefore, careful consideration must be made before the final decision.