Strategic repatriation for forward-looking enterprises

Decline of the public cloud and transition to a diverse IT environment 

Public cloud environments initially proved to be beneficial, but as time progressed, IT departments began to experience rising costs, as well as unexpected cloud management challenges and data security issues. More than 75% of IT leaders surveyed reported that at least 20% of their public cloud expenditures were wasteful with more than half estimating the waste to exceed 40% in a recent survey.

Using the prevalent pay-as-you-go pricing of public cloud can make costs spiral, making budgeting difficult over time. However, the fixed pricing structures of other cloud service providers can also force businesses to pay for more resources than needed. Additionally, several cloud management challenges have developed due to switching to public cloud, which include performance and latency issues, decreased availability, skills and tooling gaps, and vendor lock-in. 

There are applications that require low latency and underperforms in public cloud environments in comparison to on-premises or private cloud environments. Public cloud Service Level Agreements (SLAs) only guarantee 99.5-99.99% uptime, while traditional data center infrastructure guarantees “five-nines” availability (99.999%). 

This shift in perception due to the prevalence of issues has caused organizations to rethink their strategy after realizing that a one-size-fits-all approach may not align with existing corporate and operational goals. Instead of abandoning the public cloud altogether, many enterprises are embracing the concept of strategic cloud repatriation, which is the migration of workloads from public clouds back to private cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environments. 

Consider edge computing

One instance when repatriation is often considered, to achieve higher speed, more bandwidth, and lower latency, is relocating digital infrastructure to the edge.  By moving necessary resources closer to end-users, IT leaders can speed up and improve the digital experience. Many industries such as healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing have workloads that are latency-sensitive and require more bandwidth, performance, security and compliance than some cloud environments. Edge computing can provide those capabilities.

The infiltration of new technologies that require high computing power and lower latency such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and IoT has also been a key driver of migrating applications to the edge.

Edge computing combined with cloud solutions can help by placing processes closer to users and strengthening security measures, all while reducing latency. It also offers the best performance and flexibility to meet the modern digital transformation demands of today. 

Benefits of a strategic repatriation approach

According to IDC, 80% of businesses anticipate moving some compute and storage resources back from public cloud to on-premises solutions within the next year. Furthermore, 42% of organizations surveyed by Citrix are also considering or have already moved at least half of their cloud-based workloads on-premises.

Some of the key benefits to cloud repatriation are cost efficiency, enhanced performance, improved data security and compliance, and multi-cloud flexibility. Repatriating workloads from public cloud can be more cost effective since IT expenses can be managed via fixed infrastructure costs and predictable budgeting. Also, having workloads in-house can provide better response times and improved processing power. 

It’s imperative to find a synergistic combination of resources that allows one to leverage the elasticity and scalability of the public cloud, while maintaining control over critical workloads and optimizing cost and performance.

Best practices

To ensure there is a sound balance in one’s infrastructure, it’s important to first assess all forms of the varying infrastructure environments available and weigh the pros and cons of each before making decisions. After a preliminary assessment, conducting a cost-benefit analysis will help make sure that any migration or adjustments to one’s cloud strategy is sound. 

Following an external view of what’s available, an audit of the company’s own IT estate should be conducted and areas for improvement and enhancement should be pinpointed. Figuring out primary goals for moving workloads, the level of customization needed for operational requirements, internal capabilities for IT management, and the specific requirements for varying workloads, will help start one’s transition running smoothly. 

IT leaders should then decide which workload to relocate and the correct environment for each workload before initiating its migration. Each workload is created differently for varying reasons and works best in varying environments. Cloud-native applications can thrive from public cloud resources, but if someone is working in a more regulated industry such as finance or healthcare, additional control and security that can be provided by private cloud may be more suitable.

Challenges to avoid

Infrastructure Costs: There will be upfront infrastructure costs required by using on-premises solutions. An initial capital investment in hardware, networking and storage will be needed, but keep in mind that the long-term benefits will usually outweigh the initial expenses. 

Internal Staffing: If IT leaders decide to migrate to on-premises environments, it’s important to remember that skilled IT professionals will be needed on one’s team. This said, organizations should be prepared to train existing employees or hire new talent to support repatriated workloads. If you are repatriating workloads from public cloud, the offering of automatic updates and maintenance is gone. Some data center providers are willing to partner to provide expertise, but keep in mind that regular monitoring, patching, and management are required to maintain security and efficiency. 

Repatriation to prepare for the future  

Understanding, planning, and executing cloud repatriation for better performance, security, and cost efficiency can help IT leaders find the best fit for their business needs. A successful migration of an organization’s digital infrastructure can also allow enterprise leaders to invest in other high-value initiatives such as enhancing customer experience, reducing technical debt, and capitalizing on the technological advancements of AI. 

A strategic migration that aligns with the operational goals and financial expectations of today’s modern enterprises is the key towards a more adaptable IT infrastructure to empower scaling and innovation tomorrow. 

About the author

Pat Cannon is the Field Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at US Signal, with extensive leadership and IT consulting experience spanning over 15 years. He specializes in developing highly scalable, secure, and resilient IT solutions across different industries, and is capable of aligning technology options with business objectives to produce impactful results for customers. Pat holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Technology from the prestigious Purdue School of Engineering & Technology. With his significant expertise as a seasoned professional, Pat is able to provide sound advice and achieve optimal performance in every IT project he takes on. 

Article Topics

Cloud Repatriation  |  edge computing  |  hybrid cloud strategy  |  IT infrastructure