An Executive's Guide to Cloud Repatriation | Considering cloud repatriation? Here’s everything to know…

According to a recent survey, some 48% of organizations have shifted their data and workloads away from the public cloud. But what's behind the great cloud repatriation rush? Has the cloud failed to deliver on its promise of simplicity, speed, ease, and affordability? Partly, yes! But the public cloud isn’t entirely to blame here.?

Over the past decade, the cloud has been undisputedly touted as the ultimate game-changer, the silver bullet to any and all infrastructure woes. Organizations were quick to take the bait and hop on the bandwagon without doing their homework – Cloud Service Provider (CSP) assessments, cost analysis, long-term ROI evaluations, and migration planning and re-architecting. Consequently, many are now keen to repatriate their cloud apps and data to on-premise. Needless to say, this fast fashion approach to the cloud is unsustainable.

What’s Behind the Public Cloud Exodus?

The reasons driving cloud repatriation are just as diverse as those behind the initial cloud migration rush. Commonly reported ones include:

Cost Overruns:?

Public cloud’s biggest allure was cost reduction. However, as data and application volumes grow, cloud costs can escalate. Many find that their workload demands and data access patterns to be unsuitable for the cloud, just a little too late. For instance, many CSPs offer incentives for customers to bring their data into the cloud with lower or no ingress charges. However, for frequently accessed data, the egress charges become significant overtime. That’s when companies may want to repatriate.? It’s also easier to forget about data and VMs running unnecessarily in the cloud, leading to unanticipated costs and budget overruns.?

Security and Compliance:

Data sovereignty driven by privacy laws, such as the GDPR in EU and CCPA in California, reinforce the need for citizen’s data to remain within specific regions. Industries, like health care and finance are also subject to certain regulations that demand certain data to remain in-house. Due to this evolving and increasingly stringent regulatory landscape, many companies find themselves compelled to repatriate their data and apps..?

Another factor behind cloud repatriation is the loss of control and visibility, which can lead to security failures. The uncertainties associated with the cloud’s shared responsibility model and lack of visibility regarding data and workload whereabouts, particularly in complex multi-cloud environments, have made it another one of the top cloud challenges for businesses.

Changing Requirements:

Not all cloud repatriation initiatives stem from inefficiencies or ineffective planning. Sometimes, as businesses evolve, so do their requirements. For instance, organizations attempting to improve latency and performance are keen to consider alternatives like on-premise deployments and edge computing, which allow them to host their data and applications closer to where the end-users are. This is especially true for businesses in latency-sensitive sectors, like healthcare, finance, streaming, or gaming.

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