Is private cloud a requirement for repatriation?
Are we repeating the same mistake of OpenStack?
I'm hearing increasing messaging from IT hardware manufacturers about private cloud offerings. It's starting to feel like 2015 again. Customers have realized the public cloud isn't the destination for all IT workloads. IT vendors are reacting by providing private cloud solutions. Don’t fall for the hype - again.
My Perspective
Is private cloud the answer? If you've followed me for any time, you know I’d say it depends on the challenge. Do you need a private cloud to repatriate workloads to a co-location or data center? Maybe or maybe not.
It depends on what you want to accomplish. We learned back in 2015/16 that building and maintaining private clouds is hard. Has it become easier over the past seven years? I’d say we have more tools, but the expectations of our developers have changed.
Provisioning infrastructure is no longer the standard. Developers expect to push code without regard to the infrastructure or database types. We also must maintain legacy services. The investment in platform engineering is intense. Is this the most effective use of your organization’s engineering resources?
Are the target applications undergoing active development? Do these apps require a public cloud interface? Or do the target applications need static infrastructure to run? If so, why are you building a private cloud?