36 Sometimes, the cloud isn’t the solution – it’s the problem. When it comes to the mass shift to the public cloud that we’ve seen in the past few years, the tide may be changing. An increasing number of organizations are taking a fresh look at their cloud investments and deciding an all-in-on-the-cloud strategy may not always be the best choice. How do you decide what’s best for your organization? In my recent piece for Network Computing, I took a deeper look at some of the security limitations and performance concerns that organizations are weighing – and three real-world examples of cloud diversification. The goal is to find your own “best execution venue.” The most common reason cited for pulling back from the cloud? Cost. According to IDC, planned and unplanned egress charges account for an average 6% of an organization’s cloud storage costs. That means 6% of all the money they’re spending on cloud storage is going toward accessing their own data, which is enough to make some organizations rethink their cloud strategy. The concept of such charges is also coming under fire in the form of antitrust investigations that allege unfair business practices. Industry commentators are speculating that’s motivated Google Cloud Platform’s recent move to waive egress fees for customers who want to leave (though they still have to jump through certain hoops). Cost is not the only factor behind reconsideration of the cloud. For some organizations, a private cloud offers better performance, lower latency and more. However, repatriation doesn’t have to be “all or nothing.” 451 Research refers to the “best execution venue,” meaning putting each workload in the most appropriate location. Hybrid cloud often provides organizations with the best of both worlds. Check out my full article for more insight on this topic. Want to go further? Learn how one company made the decision to move some of their data workloads back from the cloud in this blog, and explore the ways Scality can help you navigate your cloud strategy here.
