Is Cloud Still King? The Shifting Landscape of Infrastructure

Believe it or not, we're right in the middle of one of the largest cloud repatriation trends we've seen in years. More companies than ever are exploring infrastructure solutions beyond major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and GCP, driven by a need for better cost control, efficiency, and performance stability.

Over the past decade, cloud giants have drawn in businesses with promises of reliability, ease of use, and unmatched flexibility. Attractive discounts and grand features made it easy for teams to settle in. Locked in by enticing discounts and the allure of grandeur, AWS, GCP Azure and similar companies rapidly gained popularity, making it difficult for teams to consider other options.

Lately, this trend is shifting. Companies are prioritizing efficiency over ease of use, both from a cost and development perspective. A 2022 survey by the Uptime Institute found that 33% of organizations have permanently moved workloads from public cloud providers to colocation facilities or on-premises data centers. I would venture to say that this number has only increased since then. Not only does the data suggest a growing cloud repatriation movement, but our daily conversations with customers and industry professionals reinforce that this shift is happening.

These changes stem from several factors, including efficiency, geopolitical uncertainty, security vulnerabilities, and most significantly - cost. Regardless of the reason, companies seek consistency in performance, cost, and control. While cloud providers have excelled over the past decade, they cannot always guarantee performance, security, or cost stability.

At Cycle, we have spent several years positioning our platform to support customers no matter their infrastructure requirements. The recent surge of interest in on-prem solutions has been driven by customer inquiries and ongoing discussions with industry experts. One conversation in particular provided valuable insight into the mindset of those actively evaluating on-prem versus cloud infrastructure.

Mark Panthofer, a DevOps expert and author, who is also the current VP of DevOps and Cloud at nvisia, an award-winning software development partner, has been an invaluable resource to the Cycle team. We have had the opportunity to collaborate with Mark and his team on various projects, and our frequent discussions help us better serve the broader DevOps and platform engineering ecosystem.

Mark's perspective acknowledges the accomplishments of cloud providers while also pointing out the risks of overconfidence. He notes,

He is right. It is important to give hyperscalers credit where it is due. The real issue arises when companies assume everything is inherently secure.

Mark highlights a critical issue: although cloud providers have done an excellent job establishing strong security reputations, many businesses become overly confident and assume complete security without taking additional necessary precautions. He stresses the importance of adopting a zero-trust architecture, which includes end-to-end TLS encryption, private networking, and robust access management practices. This approach ensures that businesses maintain security controls without blindly trusting their cloud provider.

Another insight Mark shares is regarding enterprise use of simplified cloud solutions like AWS ECS or Google Cloud Run. These platforms offer ease of entry but can lead to vendor lock-in, limiting flexibility and inflating long-term costs.

In Mark's line of work, as in ours at Cycle, it is important to be realistic. AWS and the other hyperscalers are not going anywhere anytime soon. The key is being prepared and knowledgeable about whatever situation a customer presents.

When considering whether to move from cloud to on-prem, Mark suggests companies evaluate workload predictability. When operations reach a point of stable and predictable demand, the cost savings of moving back on-premises can be significant. Surprisingly, this decision is often less about security and more about cost efficiency and predictability. Understanding workload characteristics helps businesses optimize their infrastructure for both performance and budget.

Our conversation with Mark reinforced that while security and control are undoubtedly important, infrastructure decisions should be guided primarily by clear and practical business objectives, including cost predictability, performance reliability, and operational efficiency. Identifying these priorities ensures that infrastructure strategies align closely with organizational goals

The key takeaway from this conversation, and the ones you may be having with your team, is to determine what is most important for your company. Is it control? Security? Cost efficiency? Once you have identified your top priorities, double down on them. Make sure you have the systems in place to support whatever direction you take. Infrastructure requires expertise, and there is no way around it. Without the right knowledge, failure is inevitable.

Navigating these complex decisions requires genuine expertise. Fortunately, expert partners like nvisia can provide valuable guidance on infrastructure and DevOps strategies. With their support, businesses can confidently chart their path forward, ensuring their infrastructure strategy aligns perfectly with their unique operational needs.

Once that path is determined, Cycle is ready to help manage your infrastructure seamlessly, doesn't matter if you use bare metal, cloud, colo or somewhere in between. Cycle is now acting as your private cloud builder or simply your kubernetes alternative.

Whether repatriation is on the table for your organization or even if it's not, it is important to shine a light on the ever-changing infrastructure ecosystem and embed ourselves in the conversations with the companies and partners we serve. Hopefully, this gets a few gears turning. Reach out with any questions or thoughts!

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