CIOs have steadily moved their workloads to the cloud for almost 20 years, usually embracing cloud-first or cloud-only insurance policies. However some are reversing course, transferring sure workloads and knowledge again from the general public cloud to on-premises infrastructure.
The 2025 State of the Cloud Report from Flexera, an IT administration software program supplier, discovered that 21% of 759 survey respondents repatriated workloads and knowledge, citing price, safety and reliability considerations.
Nonetheless, not all CIOs see repatriation as the precise reply. Some say they continue to be firmly dedicated to cloud environments, arguing that cloud stays the very best atmosphere for contemporary workloads — particularly these utilizing AI — so long as programs are correctly configured and managed to manage prices and preserve safety and pace.
So, we requested two CIOs, “What workload would you not transfer to the cloud once more for those who had been beginning over at present?”
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Josh Hamit, senior vice chairman and CIO at Altra Federal Credit score Union and a member of the ISACA Rising Traits Working Group.
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Sue Bergamo, a 25-year IT and cybersecurity chief now offering fractional CIO and CISO companies by means of BTE Companions and a trustee with the Boston chapter of the Society for Data Administration.
Each answered: none — and defined why.
Their responses, edited for readability and size, comply with.
Josh Hamit, senior vice chairman and CIO, Altra Federal Credit score Union
Hamit: ‘We’ll maintain increasing our cloud footprint’
“I’ve been pondering whether or not we now have moved any workloads into the cloud that we now have later regretted, and I truthfully can’t consider something that stands out. That’s most likely extra a results of our cloud technique taking a gradual strategy versus going all-in.
“We nonetheless run a lot of our workloads inside our in-house knowledge facilities and have progressively began to maneuver and check extra programs within the cloud. A few of our vital workloads haven’t been ‘formally’ supported within the cloud or haven’t been confirmed out, so we have additionally needed to wait on distributors to make sure their platforms can function successfully in cloud suppliers like AWS or Azure. We’re beginning to see a whole lot of progress in that space, so I anticipate we’ll maintain increasing our cloud footprint in 2026 and past.”
Lean on skilled companions
“What I’ll add about our cloud journey is that we have been very deliberate in working with skilled companions which have helped us navigate migrations. As we have leveraged extra Microsoft cloud companies (e.g., SharePoint On-line, OneDrive, Material, and so forth.), we now have leaned on companions to assist us guarantee a stable architectural and safe basis — for instance, establishing Microsoft Purview for knowledge classification and knowledge loss prevention controls. I believe that technique has helped stabilize our cloud migrations and keep away from laborious classes realized and even regrets.
“I am positive a whole lot of organizations which have gone by means of a fast-paced migration into the cloud have most likely recognized workloads that simply weren’t very appropriate for the cloud and doubtless want they might possibly return.”
Cloud is ‘the place innovation is occurring’
“However cloud is certainly one thing that’s completely a part of our know-how and organizational technique. That is the place the innovation is occurring. We’re seeing a whole lot of capabilities that cloud is providing with direct tie-ins to AI and issues that simply are far more troublesome to do in an on-prem atmosphere.
“Cloud has extra scalability and the flexibility to spin programs up faster. These forms of capabilities are key to our pace and agility for positive.”
Sue Bergamo, CIO and CISO, BTE Companions
Bergamo: ‘An atmosphere that may broaden’
“From my vantage level as a CIO and cloud architect, I might transfer each workload to the cloud except it was one thing critically high secret. I like the whole lot in regards to the cloud: the enormity of it, the range of it, the structure. It truly is the most important knowledge heart on the planet. But it surely’s not only a knowledge heart; it is a fruits of information facilities. It offers you an atmosphere that may actually broaden worldwide.”
Configuration is vital
“As soon as you know the way it really works, it is no much less safe or no safer than an on-prem atmosphere. Give it some thought, you’ve received public cloud environments that huge corporations like Microsoft or Amazon are defending after which you will have your atmosphere inside that atmosphere that your organization is defending. So, it’’ nearly like a double layer of safety so long as you are doing it the precise method.
“You have to have good architects who know methods to set the atmosphere up, whether or not it is on-prem or within the cloud.
“From a latency perspective, you need to configure and arrange the precise atmosphere within the cloud for the workload that you’ve got — similar to with an on-prem atmosphere. And for those who shortchange the server dimension and the CPU dimension, you are going to have latency.
“There will be overage prices with cloud for those who do not configure appropriately. The cloud expands based mostly in your workloads and your useful resource wants, so for those who exceed your present atmosphere when it scales, you’re going to have overage costs. However for those who configure appropriately, you should not. That is similar to in an on-prem atmosphere: In case your workloads exceed the dimensions of your atmosphere, you have to exit and purchase extra gear. It is the identical idea with cloud, besides it occurs just about.”
