Cloud repatriation: Key strategic consideration for work load distribution
By Satyamohan Yanambaka, CEO, Intelics Cloud
India’s digital landscape is undergoing a paradigm shift driven by a growing cloud computing market. The public cloud services market in India is expected to reach $24.2 billion by 2028, highlighting the increasing appeal of the cloud for businesses across the country.
However, as Indian businesses increasingly look to adopt cloud technology, they often encounter unanticipated challenges. While public clouds have existed for some time now, many companies are realising that a one-size-fits-all approach may not be ideal. The standardised nature of public cloud solutions can sometimes fall short of meeting specific industry demands, leading businesses to reconsider their IT strategies. Another challenge is embezzling costs of public cloud and the cost of security forcing large enterprises to relook at their deployment strategies in pursuit of “Right Infrastructure for Right Work load”.
This reassessment has given rise to the concept of cloud repatriation, a strategic shift that focuses on refining the role of the cloud in modern IT architecture. Cloud repatriation offers a potential solution to these challenges, allowing businesses to recalibrate their IT strategies. It involves carefully reassessing where workloads should be hosted, balancing the public cloud’s strengths with the control and customisation offered by on-premise or private cloud solutions.
India’s fintech sector is a prime example where this balanced approach could prove invaluable. These companies handle sensitive financial data, requiring stringent security measures and compliance with regulations. A hybrid strategy, leveraging public cloud flexibility for non-sensitive operations while maintaining critical data on-premises, could offer the best of both worlds – agility and ironclad control where it matters most. The manufacturing sector, too, stands to benefit from this strategic approach. Latency-sensitive IoT applications, crucial for real-time monitoring and control, might perform better when closer to home. By repatriating certain workloads, these companies can maintain edge computing capabilities for time-critical processes while still harnessing the public cloud’s data analytics and storage power.
Beyond performance and compliance, the potential for cost optimisation cannot be overlooked. As organisations mature in their cloud journey, they understand their workload characteristics and actual costs more. This insight can lead to more informed decisions about resource allocation, potentially resulting in significant savings over time. While public clouds offer high availability, businesses often find themselves creating redundancies for that crucial last 1% availability, leading to inefficiencies and unexpected costs.
It’s important to note that cloud repatriation isn’t about completely abandoning public clouds. Rather, it’s a strategic decision to create a more balanced, efficient IT infrastructure matching their needs of cots & security. This approach recognises that while public clouds offer numerous benefits, there are scenarios where on-premises or private cloud solutions might be more advantageous.
The Indian government’s push for digital transformation further emphasises the importance of this nuanced approach. For instance, let’s look at the National Digital Communications Policy – 2018. It highlights the government’s vision to establish India as a hub globally for cloud computing, content hosting and delivery, and data communication systems and services. They have further stated their vision to enable light-touch regulation for the proliferation of cloud-based systems and to help cloud service providers establish captive fibre networks.
In this evolving landscape, the future of cloud computing in India will see the blend of cloud services that align perfectly with each organisation’s unique needs and goals. Cloud repatriation is a leap towards a more mature, efficient, and tailored approach to IT infrastructure. It is a strategy worth considering for those looking to fine-tune their digital capabilities in an increasingly complex technological landscape, offering a path to balance the benefits of public clouds with the control and customisation of on-premises solutions
