Is cloud repatriation the next big thing? Uh, no. Let’s bust this myth now: No major industry sources are reporting that there’s a huge trend toward cloud repatriation. But cloud repatriation is worthy of consideration for organizations looking to address security concerns, compliance requirements, high cloud costs, and some performance issues.
In fact, an article we posted in 2023, “Cloud repatriation: What’s behind the return to on-premises?” got us thinking more about this topic.
Moving back to on-premises and hybrid infrastructures
Cloud repatriation is the process of moving data and applications from the cloud back to on-premises infrastructure or a hybrid model. Despite the ongoing growth of the public cloud, some organizations are repatriating, and many others are keeping applications and data on premises.
Gartner, Inc. wrote in April 2024 that “[o]n premises vendors are driving a false narrative of widespread and common ‘cloud repatriation.’” Well, no false narrative here. We agree with Gartner’s statement that “Cloud projects of all sizes and scope sometimes fail, or are suboptimal, which may lead to a decision to pursue alternatives.”
Optimizing IT infrastructures doesn’t always mean cloud
Organizations are, or should be, constantly optimizing their IT infrastructures to meet their specific business needs and control costs. So, as organizations gain experience with cloud environments, many are fine-tuning their strategies to find the right balance between cloud and on-premises solutions. Furthermore, many organizations cannot move all their applications or data to the cloud for regulatory or other compliance reasons. And new regulations may require repatriation.
IT infrastructure choices explained
Enterprises and other organizations use one or more of the following deployment models for the applications that run their business:
- Public cloud: Cloud computing services that a third party provides, accessible to multiple organizations via the internet. Public clouds are multi-tenant environments where computing resources are shared, but each tenant is isolated from the others. The shared infrastructure provides economies of scale that reduce costs and enable flexible, elastic allocation of computing resources as needed. However, customization is limited, and there is less control over security.
- Private cloud: Cloud computing services serving an individual organization in a tailored environment. The single tenant is responsible for maintenance, upgrades, and management, so costs are higher than public cloud. You have to make a significant investment in hardware, though that hardware can be shared for multiple applications you run.
- On-premises: Computing services serving an individual organization at their location. On-premises deployments require significant upfront capital expenditure for hardware, software, and ongoing maintenance. They also require a dedicated IT staff for management and support. On-premises deployments can provide greater control and security with higher costs and limited scalability.
- Hybrid: A combination of any of the above, where some parts of an application run on-prem and other parts run in the cloud. Hybrid deployments provide a balance of control, allowing organizations to keep sensitive data and critical applications on-premises (or in a private cloud that isn’t on-premises) while leveraging cloud resources for less sensitive workloads.
Most larger enterprises run a combination of these deployments, which is challenging to monitor and manage. Performance can issues are tough to detect and fix. So, these enterprises use observability software to avoid downtime and proactively identify and fix performance issues before users find them.
For example, Cisco AppDynamics Application Performance Monitoring (APM) solutions provide visibility and AI-powered insights across all environments — public cloud, private cloud, on-premises, and hybrid. This comprehensive view enables IT teams to optimize performance, ensure security, and deliver exceptional user experiences regardless of the underlying infrastructure.
1. Considering cloud repatriation to reduce costs
Early on, cloud promised to be a big cost saver, and it is for most applications built to take advantage of cloud architecture. However, many organizations took a “lift-and-shift” approach to the cloud, essentially taking their non-cloud applications and moving them to the cloud without cloud architecture. And these organizations aren’t seeing the cost savings they expected. Worse, it may actually be more expensive to run their on-prem applications in the cloud.
That leaves these organizations with two choices to reduce costs: Either rearchitect your application to take advantage of cloud architectures or leave the app alone and move it back on-prem.
Another cost issue is that cloud costs can escalate and become increasingly unpredictable as businesses grow. A notable (but old) example is Dropbox, which reported savings of almost $75 million after moving most of its workloads from the public cloud onto its own custom-designed infrastructure.
Hybrid environments, combining cloud and on-premises solutions, are also becoming popular. AppDynamics provides cost optimization insights by offering a clear view of resource utilization across all infrastructure types, helping businesses make informed decisions about their IT investments.
2. Considering cloud repatriation for security concerns
Security can be a driver for cloud repatriation. Certain sectors, such as government and healthcare, often find that on-premises solutions better meet their strict security needs. Other industries are required to run on-premises for security reasons. The growing public concern over data privacy is also pushing some organizations to reconsider their cloud strategies.
With AppDynamics, organizations can maintain robust security monitoring across both cloud and on-premises environments, ensuring consistent protection regardless of infrastructure choices.
3. Considering cloud repatriation for compliance requirements
On-premises infrastructure often provides easier control over data storage and access, simplifying compliance efforts. Strict data control laws, like the European Union’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), can force companies that moved applications and data to the cloud to repatriate.
Older regulations such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program), and SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) require companies to stay on-prem.
AppDynamics helps organizations maintain compliance by offering detailed insights into data flows and access patterns, which are critical for meeting regulatory requirements in any environment.
4. Considering cloud repatriation for performance optimization
Some businesses find that on-premises infrastructure provides better performance for specific applications. For example, latency-sensitive operations or data-intensive workloads may benefit from local processing.
Cloud repatriation allows companies to fine-tune their infrastructure to meet specific performance requirements, ensuring optimal user experiences and operational efficiency. AppDynamics excels in this area, offering real-time performance monitoring and analytics that help organizations identify and resolve issues quickly, regardless of infrastructure.
Getting insights into the right mix of cloud and on-prem
In conclusion, while cloud computing continues to offer significant benefits, IT organizations should continually assess their IT strategies to address business and regulatory requirements. Cloud repatriation may be a viable option for businesses seeking to optimize their infrastructure.
When considering cloud repatriation, businesses must find the right balance that addresses their unique needs and requirements. This might involve a hybrid approach, combining the strengths of both cloud and on-premises infrastructure.
By leveraging observability and APM solutions like AppDynamics, companies can gain the insights needed to make informed decisions about their IT infrastructure, ensuring they have the right mix of cloud and on-premises solutions to meet their unique business requirements. If the conclusion is to migrate more applications to the cloud, then solutions like AppDynamics help by monitoring real-time performance issues to speed and streamline migration while mitigating risk and ensuring all teams are aligned on business-critical KPIs.
Want to learn more? Watch our on-demand webinar “Cisco Unlocks AI-Powered Intelligence for Self-Hosted Observability.”
