CIOs have steadily moved their workloads to the cloud for almost twenty years, usually embracing cloud-first or cloud-only insurance policies. However some are reversing course, shifting sure workloads and information 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 information, citing value, safety and reliability issues.
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 perfect atmosphere for contemporary workloads — particularly these utilizing AI — so long as methods 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 when you had been beginning over at this time?”
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Josh Hamit, senior vice chairman and CIO at Altra Federal Credit score Union and a member of the ISACA Rising Tendencies Working Group.
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Sue Bergamo, a 25-year IT and cybersecurity chief now offering fractional CIO and CISO providers by BTE Companions and a trustee with the Boston chapter of the Society for Info 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 hold increasing our cloud footprint’
“I’ve been pondering whether or not now we have moved any workloads into the cloud that now we have later regretted, and I truthfully can not consider something that stands out. That’s most likely extra a results of our cloud technique taking a gradual method versus going all-in.
“We nonetheless run a lot of our workloads inside our in-house information facilities and have progressively began to maneuver and take a look at extra methods within the cloud. A few of our essential 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 numerous progress in that space, so I anticipate we’ll hold 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 providers (e.g., SharePoint On-line, OneDrive, Material, and many others.), now we have leaned on companions to assist us guarantee a strong architectural and safe basis — for instance, establishing Microsoft Purview for information classification and information loss prevention controls. I feel that technique has helped stabilize our cloud migrations and keep away from arduous classes discovered and even regrets.
“I am positive numerous organizations which have gone by 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 may possibly return.”
Cloud is ‘the place innovation is going on’
“However cloud is unquestionably one thing that’s completely a part of our expertise and organizational technique. That is the place the innovation is going on. We’re seeing numerous capabilities that cloud is providing with direct tie-ins to AI and issues that simply are far more tough to do in an on-prem atmosphere.
“Cloud has extra scalability and the flexibility to spin methods up faster. These kinds of capabilities are key to our pace and agility for positive.”
Sue Bergamo, CIO and CISO, BTE Companions
Bergamo: ‘An atmosphere that may develop’
“From my vantage level as a CIO and cloud architect, I’d transfer each workload to the cloud until it was one thing significantly high secret. I like the whole lot in regards to the cloud: the enormity of it, the variety of it, the structure. It truly is the biggest information heart on the earth. However it’s not only a information heart; it is a end result of information facilities. It offers you an atmosphere that may actually develop worldwide.”
Configuration is vital
“As soon as you understand how 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 firms like Microsoft or Amazon are defending after which you may 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 means.
“You have to have good architects who know the way to set the atmosphere up, whether or not it is on-prem or within the cloud.
“From a latency perspective, it’s important to configure and arrange the precise atmosphere within the cloud for the workload that you’ve — similar to with an on-prem atmosphere. And when you shortchange the server dimension and the CPU dimension, you are going to have latency.
“There could be overage prices with cloud when you do not configure accurately. The cloud expands based mostly in your workloads and your useful resource wants, so when you exceed your present atmosphere when it scales, you’re going to have overage prices. However when you configure accurately, you should not. That is similar to in an on-prem atmosphere: In case your workloads exceed the scale of your atmosphere, you have to exit and purchase extra gear. It is the identical idea with cloud, besides it occurs just about.”
