The cloud is increasingly coming home

For years, the direction seemed clear: organisations were moving applications and data to the public cloud because of its scalability, flexibility and ease of use. For many standard applications, this remains a logical choice. Nevertheless, there is a growing realisation that not every workload has the same requirements. For business-critical systems, performance, availability, control and predictable costs are becoming increasingly important. That is why the private cloud is once again taking on a prominent role, not as a replacement for the public cloud, but as part of a hybrid strategy.

This trend is being driven by stricter regulations, the growing focus on digital sovereignty, the rise of AI and changes in the virtualisation landscape, such as Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware. As a result, organisations are once again asking questions about data location, cost control, resilience and control over their IT environment.

Control over flexibility

Whereas cloud adoption initially revolved mainly around speed and scalability, the focus is now on predictability. Executives want control over costs, performance, availability and risks. Particularly in sectors such as healthcare, logistics and industry, IT has become an integral part of the core business process. The question is therefore not only how quickly an organisation can scale up, but above all how quickly it can recover following a disruption.

Local infrastructure is gaining new value

More and more organisations are choosing to keep certain data and applications closer to their operations. Local processing offers advantages for real-time processes and helps to meet stricter requirements regarding privacy, compliance and data protection. As a result, the role of the private cloud within a hybrid infrastructure is growing, with the most suitable environment being determined on a per-application basis.

Digital sovereignty and AI

Digital sovereignty has become a strategic issue. Organisations want to know where their data is located, which legislation it is subject to, and how dependent they are on major technology suppliers. Private and hybrid cloud models offer greater freedom of choice and control.

AI is also accelerating this development. AI workloads require significant computing power and rapid access to large volumes of data. Local processing prevents unnecessary data traffic to external cloud environments and combines the benefits of control with the flexibility of cloud technology.

Reduced complexity

Many hybrid IT landscapes have become complex over the years. Consequently, there is a growing need for integrated platforms that combine storage, computing power, backup and data protection. This reduces the administrative burden, increases predictability and makes organisations more resilient to cyber incidents.

In addition, partly due to changes to VMware licensing, many companies are looking for alternatives that enable a phased modernisation without immediately replacing existing environments.

👉The debate is no longer about public versus private cloud. Organisations are increasingly opting for a hybrid approach, in which the most suitable infrastructure is determined on a per-workload basis. The future lies in striking a balance between flexibility, control, performance and costs, tailored to the organisation’s business objectives.