In the past few weeks, during my discovery calls, I’ve come across several organisations that were looking into moving data and processes off the cloud and back onto their own premises.
Not everything, obviously. Some things need to be shared. But it’s not the usual sovereignty story of swapping US big tech for European big tech. It’s closer to moving back to where we all were before the cloud became a thing.
When you think about it, you start wondering how so much of our data ended up in theses data centres in the first place.
For years, we were hammered with the religious-like message that owning infrastructure was a distraction, that the cloud was the natural home for all data. In some cases, that’s true, but in many others it’s just a sales pitch that became received wisdom.
How much of your estate is in the cloud because someone decided that’s how it should be, and how much is there simply because it’s what everyone else does?
When your data is on the cloud (also known as “someone else’s computer”) you’re at the mercy of a landlord who sets the terms as they want. And those terms usually change once you’ve moved all your furniture in – that’s the business model.
Bringing things home isn’t free though. Someone has to patch servers, make backups, replace disks at 3am, and so on. It’s just a different kind of dependency.
The real question isn’t “cloud good or cloud bad”? It’s which dependency you want to live with. The answer will change from one organisation to another, depending on skills, budgets, risk appetite and how much you trust the people holding your keys.
It’s worth thinking about, though.
Colin