On-premises, virtualised or cloud: where should a workload live?.

There is no universally right place to run a workload. The right choice depends on the workload.

On-premises, virtualised

Servers in your own room, running a hypervisor so several virtual machines share hardware. Good for steady workloads, low-latency access to local systems, data that must stay on site, and predictable costs. You carry power, cooling, security and maintenance.

Colocation and private hosting

Your hardware in a professional data centre, or dedicated hardware hosted for you. Better power, cooling and connectivity than most offices, without building a facility.

Public cloud

Elastic capacity and managed services, billed by use. Great for variable demand, new projects, global reach and disaster recovery. Costs can climb if resources are left running or data leaves the cloud often.

Hybrid

Many businesses keep core systems local and use the cloud for backup, disaster recovery, collaboration and bursts of demand.

Factors to weigh

• Performance and latency to users and machines.
• Regulatory and data-residency requirements.
• Total cost over several years, including staff time.
• Skills available to run the platform.
• Exit options and lock-in.

Start with an inventory

List each application, its dependencies, criticality and data sensitivity. Decide placement application by application, not as a slogan.