In the early 2010s, the message was clear: ditch your on-prem data center and embrace the public cloud. For many leaders, public cloud promised a dramatic upgrade in speed, scalability, and ease.
But a lot has changed since then. The private data center has evolved. Its users enjoy many of of the same capabilities that public cloud offers – without much of the headache that frustrates many companies today. And with a managed services partner, hybrid infrastructures that include both the public cloud and private data centers are easier to manage than ever.
In this piece, I’ll explain why the data center you left isn’t the one you’d be returning to and how to know it might be time to migrate certain workloads.
Modern Data Centers Deliver the Best of the Public Cloud
It makes sense why many companies embraced the public cloud in its early days. On-prem data centers are a pain to set up and manage on an ongoing basis. Just provisioning a server can take weeks and requires deep internal expertise.
With public cloud, though, teams can provision infrastructure with a few clicks. They can automate deployment using scripts. And they can pay for compute based on usage, from the OpEx budget, instead of investing significant capital in setup and maintenance.
But for all its benefits, public cloud has introduced a new set of challenges, such as:
- Vendor lock-in
- Unpredictable performance
- High service fees
- Cloud sprawl (i.e., uncontrolled proliferation of an organization's cloud services)
That’s why many organizations are reassessing their infrastructure mix. And they’re finding that modern data centers now mirror the best parts of what the public cloud has to offer.
Instead of locking companies into proprietary tools from public cloud vendors, however, today’s data centers take advantage of new third-party and open-source tools (like Terraform and OpenTofu), which offer Infrastructure-as-Code capability anywhere and to anyone. There are also digital tools available to support:
- Automated deployment: Thanks to robust IPMI and platforms like Tinkerbell and Canonical MAAS, provisioning bare metal is now API-driven
- Configuration management: Systems like Ansible, SaltStack, and Puppet let teams deploy quickly
Now, companies rethinking their use of public cloud infrastructure can enjoy new levels of performance and efficiency by embracing a hybrid model. What’s more, they can get creative in how they manage their resources – crucial in today’s uncertain economy.
For example, you can tailor a hybrid solution that meets your business priorities, balancing cost, performance, and management. You can decide what you need and want to manage without a barrage of micro-charges on your bill.
The bottom line? Early public cloud providers may have raised the bar for excellent infrastructure. But today’s data centers have more than caught up (and provide more choices).
5 Myths Keeping Companies from Embracing Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure
CIOs are paying close attention to data center advancements. In fact, 83 percent are planning to move some workloads away from the public cloud, and fewer than 10 percent are going fully on prem. The implication: many business leaders are quickly recognizing that hybrid is the way forward.
That said, there are still plenty of holdouts. In my experience, five common misconceptions make many leaders hesitant to push for cloud repatriation:
- Myth 1: You need to rebuild your data center team. Companies worry they’ll need to hire a team of hardware experts (and fire their AWS or Azure specialists). In reality, today’s data center partners (👋) can deliver fully managed, turnkey infrastructure.
- Myth 2: It requires a huge capital outlay. Repatriation doesn’t have to mean spending millions on new hardware. Flexible billing models with managed services providers let companies treat infrastructure spend like OpEx, much as they do to use the public cloud.
- Myth 3: You lose automation. It’s worth repeating: The same tools used in public cloud environments now work in private data centers, delivering equivalent levels of automation without any vendor lock-in.
- Myth 4: It’s more expensive. Once you account for public cloud’s hidden costs (like data egress fees and over-provisioning), private data centers can reduce spend by as much as 80 percent.
- Myth 5: It takes a long time to provision. The modern data center provider has a wide array of managed services available immediately (e.g., object storage, virtual private servers, dedicated servers, etc.), and deployments can range from minutes to hours.
Old assumptions are still shaping today’s infrastructure decisions, leading teams to overlook just how far the modern data center has come. But the tools, services, and cost considerations aren’t the same as they were a decade ago. If you’re not already thinking about it, a hybrid approach can blend public and private cloud (ideally in a managed hosting environment) to give you the best of both worlds.
How to Know When It’s Time for a Switch
So when does it make sense to reconsider where you host your workloads? Cloud repatriation could make sense for your business if you need:
- Lower costs. Many organizations hit a tipping point where cloud costs far exceed expectations. A well-architected private data center can deliver major savings.
- Consistent performance. For latency-sensitive workloads (like AI inference or real-time analytics), private data centers offer greater predictability than a shared public cloud setup.
- Data sovereignty. Some industries can’t risk hosting data in shared public cloud environments. Repatriated workloads offer more control.
- Vendor stability. Right now, many organizations are grappling with what to do after Equinix EOLs its bare-metal offering in 2026. That’s just the latest example of a vendor’s changing priorities forcing its customers to scramble. One way to avoid similar issues in the future is working with a trusted managed services provider. You can use their team of experts to find a new solution and migrate smoothly without disrupting your business. (And if you happen to be looking for an alternative for your Metal workloads, we can help.)
If any of these apply, it might be time to consider cloud repatriation. And with the help of a managed services provider, you can migrate and manage workloads easily.
An experienced partner can provide the playbooks, guidance, and hands-on support to make the transition smoother. That includes everything from pre-migration assessments to downtime mitigation strategies. It also includes all the time-intensive infrastructure management (like patching, monitoring, and hardware upkeep) that keeps your team up at night.
With the right partner, you can free up your internal teams’ time and empower them to focus on revenue-building innovation. The impact: lower risk, lower costs, and the crack-free foundation you need to keep your business moving forward.
The Future Is Hybrid
The public cloud can feel comfortable for many companies. But comfortable doesn’t always mean efficient. Or performative. Or cost-effective.
When modern data centers offer so much value, leaders can’t afford to ignore hybrid infrastructure any longer. Whether you're chasing better performance, seeking more control, or navigating economic uncertainty, cloud repatriation is worth a second look.
If you’re ready to embark on that journey, Summit can help. Let’s discuss how to build, manage, and optimize a hosting environment tailored to your business needs.
Eric Dynowski
Eric Dynowski has been developing software, designing global infrastructures, and managing large technology installs for over 25 years. His background in complex infrastructure design and integration has reduced customer budgets by millions.
