The `best cloud`is a mere fairytale..or is it?

Under the COVID-19 pandemic, the cloud industry peaked as remote working became a global way of life and kept business productivity afloat. While the initial rush to move everything to the cloud spotlighted its scalability and flexibility, a couple of years later, a red flag waved. The hefty cloud bills started rolling in, prompting a re-evaluation of thinking towards the cloud.

Dropbox, a renowned name in cloud storage, serves as a compelling example of strategic cloud management. Founded in 2007, Dropbox initially relied on Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3) for storing file content, while hosting metadata in private data centers. By 2018, after investing over $53 million, Dropbox shifted a significant portion of its infrastructure to three dedicated colocation facilities, reducing its reliance on AWS to a mere 10%.

This shift towards a more cautious, thoughtful approach was dubbed as cloud repatriation.

As companies evolve from a strict cloud-first strategy to a cloud-if thinking, there`s been increasing discussion about the repatriation of workloads, either returning them on-premises or shifting from public to private clouds.

While a 2019 study by Gartner described repatriation as the exception rather than the norm, noting that only 4% of organizations were moving workloads back from public clouds, already then some voices begged to differ. For example, IBM`s CTO for Asia-Pacific countered this, affirming the reality of cloud repatriation. He attributed it to two main factors: 1) a lack of understanding about the importance of deactivating unused resources, and 2) a failure to grasp the data consumption rates of applications.

The 2023 IDC Survey on Cloud Trends in Europe confirmed this trend revealing a decrease in full public cloud adoption, with 71% of participants considering partial or complete migration back on-premises.

Companies are indeed reassessing which workloads are best kept on-premises, but the question remains: how many are making this shift, and what's the optimal mix of cloud and on-premises solutions? Based on what criteria are these decisions being made?

Not all cloud adoption strategies are equal

When it comes to cloud adoption, one size definitely doesn`t fit all. Each organization has distinct needs, priorities, and challenges, necessitating customized strategies for successful cloud integration. Whether addressing specific business goals, managing data security concerns, or optimizing costs, a customized approach ensures that companies can leverage the full potential of their investments.

Regardless of the approach chosen, the crucial question to ask is whether it sustains value for the business. If cloud-repatriation promises the maximum added value, it would be myopic to perceive cloud repatriation as a sign of weakness of the current strategy. Instead, it symbolizes a mature approach to cloud adoption, acknowledging that it`s about striking the right balance between the benefits of the cloud and on-premises solutions.

Drivers of strategic cloud repatriation

As concerns about the cloud grow, organizations are adopting a more cautious approach to full cloud commitment. Fears of vendor lock-in, unforeseen expenses, and compromised data security underscore the necessity for a strategic and balanced cloud adoption strategy. In this context, realizing genuine value from the cloud is paramount. The path to this value begins with recognizing that not all workloads need to reside on cloud infrastructure.

By selectively repatriating workloads and potentially migrating them back as needed, organizations can harness the advantages of both on-premises and cloud infrastructures. This approach elevates cloud-repatriation to a strategic concept, allowing organizations for more efficient resource scaling, cost reduction, and ensures data sovereignty and security.

At this point in time, a critical question arises: what should be migrated, retained, or repatriated? This decision is crucial as transferring workloads between on-premises and cloud environments incurs costs. A cost-effective and balanced strategy entails retaining simple and less critical workloads on-premises, while leveraging the cloud for more advanced services that deliver genuine value.

Not all clouds are the perfect fit

The concept of a perfect cloud or a 'perfect cloud service provider' doesn't exist. Hence, selecting one or more providers and deciding on the data hosting model—be it on-premises, private, or public—hinges on business goals, which in turn dictates the success of a cloud strategy.

Depending on the organization's needs, relying on a single cloud provider can offer simplicity and streamlined management. However, for those aiming to harness true innovation and flexibility, leveraging the distinct strengths and specialized services of multiple providers tailored to specific workloads is key.

This introduction of a implementing a multiple cloud (or multicloud) approach to be able to leverage the ‘best fitting services’ for your needs adds a layer of complexity. It requires evaluating each provider's offerings considering their service capabilities, performance metrics, security protocols, and compliance standards. Additionally, a thorough assessment of pricing models, scalability options, and support services is vital to ensure cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and seamless integration across various cloud platforms.

While the debate between 'cloud versus on-premises' is significant, the selection of one or multiple cloud service providers is pivotal in determining a successful cloud adoption strategy.

Don’t get lost in complexity!

This decision over one or more providers is equally strategic as the 'cloud versus on-premises' choice, providing organizations with cloud infrastructure and services that align with their current and future needs, priorities, and operational requirements.

The emma cloud management platform offers a real solution to strike a balance between the flexibility and scalability of the cloud and the cost efficiency of on-premises infrastructure; between a single cloud, multiple cloud or true multicloud approach This allows organizations to achieve greater value and return on investment from their cloud initiatives - cloud repatriation being one of them.

So let’s have a look at how emma can help you with the arising cost and complexity inherent to these initiatives.

Choosing the ‘right’ cloud provider

Utilizing advanced price comparison technology, emma assists you in identifying the most cost-effective deals from major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and GCP, as well as others such as Alibaba, DigitalOcean, and local providers such as Gcore, Scaleway, and others. Navigate the real-time database using an intuitive search wizard to explore available offers based on cloud provider, location, and instance configuration. With flexible settings, you can customize your search to align with your specific workload requirements, performance needs, and compliance standards.

Migrating into the cloud

Once you've made your initial choice of one or more vendors, you can migrate your workloads using the tools provided by emma using the internet or emma’s integrated cloud networking solution. This solution provides fast and reliable interconnectivity, along with significantly reduced data egress costs—typically 30% lower than using the public internet. Some of our clients have opted to connect their on-premises infrastructure to our network, enabling them to use it for bidirectional migration. This turns repatriation from a strategic decision into an operational one.

Managing cloud resources and costs

Managing workloads across on-premises and cloud environments—whether single or multicloud, private, edge, or public—requires careful oversight. With emma's centralized management capabilities, accessible through a unified dashboard, monitoring and managing becomes straightforward. Designed for ease of use, emma caters to both IT and non-IT users, offering clear visibility into the performance of both on-premises and cloud resources. This empowers you to optimize resource utilization and costs, all while maintaining data security and compliance.

While real-time insights into performance and costs are valuable, the ability to act on them—either manually or through automation—makes a significant difference. Through the emma dashboard and its advanced automation features, you can ensure optimal resource allocation, fully leveraging the pay-per-use model of the emma platform.

In essence, cloud repatriation is not merely a step backward but can be strategically integrated into a cloud-agnostic multicloud approach. This approach allows organizations to optimize their cloud investments by leveraging the strengths of various cloud environments. There's no one-size-fits-all solution or universal location that suits every organization's needs. Instead, it's essential to tailor your cloud strategy to align closely with your organization's unique requirements, objectives, and operational demands.