For several years now, one of the hot topics in the technology world has been whether to host your application in the cloud or move it back to on-premises infrastructure.
Yes, you read that right: After all the excitement and revolutionary talk about how the cloud would change everything for the better, there has been something of an about-face. Organizations are increasingly questioning the costs associated with the cloud and wondering if an investment in hardware and the staff to maintain it’s worth instead.
The move is known as cloud repatriation, and in a June 2024 report from IDC, 80% of technology leaders were planning to see “some level of repatriation of compute and storage resources in the next 12 months,” according to a recent article on CIO.com.
Those numbers beg the question: Are they on to something? Is on-prem better than cloud? Or is it the other way around?
Why Are Tech Leaders Drawn to On-Prem Solutions?
There are a couple reasons why on-prem could be perceived as the logical choice for an application or system:
Critical uptime
In theory: Organizations with specific needs around the reliability of their sites or applications may believe they need more control over their storage and computing needs and may turn to on-prem infrastructure. On the surface, this makes sense.
In reality: On-prem storage and computing systems can still run into problems that can negatively affect critical uptime. These organizations are exchanging a lack of control in the cloud for the responsibility of control on-prem.
Cost
In theory: Some believe hosting in the cloud comes at too high a cost. The argument is, why not invest in infrastructure rather than dole out money continuously to cover unexpected and expensive fees? However, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.
In reality: With on-prem, it may be less expensive to purchase the necessary hardware than it is to pay cloud fees over time. But we must add the cost of hiring people to run the on-prem infrastructure. For many, that puts the cost of ownership far out of reach – and far in excess of cloud’s fees.
Which is Better: Cloud or On-Prem?
One way to answer that is by thinking of it like the difference between owning a home versus renting. In this comparison, on-prem would be akin to buying a home. You invest in hardware and the support team to run, manage, and maintain it. You get total control over your storage and computing needs (i.e. you can paint the walls any color you want), but you are solely responsible when something goes wrong. And while the cost of the machine itself may be accessible, the price tag increases as you factor in everything else you will need for successful implementation – much like how the true cost of owning a home is significantly higher than the mortgage payment alone.
And unlike real estate, the value of on-prem hardware does not appreciate with time.
The cloud is more like renting at a fancy apartment complex with all the amenities. You aren’t just getting access to hardware; you’re getting a service and everything that goes along, including maintenance, upgrades, and support. Your monthly fees cover the cost of that service, and as a result, if something goes wrong, you can rest easy knowing that someone else will fix it. You don’t have total control, but you have a contractual agreement to protect your application over the long term.
Our Take on Infrastructure
We acknowledge there are some situations where on-prem makes sense. However, for most situations, deploying to the cloud is better. The deployments are usually more straightforward and repeatable. The total cost of ownership is generally lower. The uptime is usually better, as is the ability to easily geographically diversify the data centers.
Our development team has yet to encounter a situation in which we recommend on-prem over cloud. We recommend the cloud time and again for all the reasons mentioned above and because we have seen it be highly effective for the hundreds of companies we have supported over our time in business. On-prem is still and will continue to be a viable option. We advise you to consider all the factors to ensure it’s the right choice for your organization and technological needs.
