Cloud computing has long been heralded as the default path for enterprise IT, with public cloud vendors promising limitless scalability and transformational efficiencies. However, recent data reveals a significant shift in this narrative: cloud spending is leveling off, and in some sectors, it may even be declining. Organizations are becoming more strategic in their technology investments, moving away from a “cloud-first” mandate and instead toward a value-driven mix of public cloud, private infrastructure, and alternative providers.

Several factors drive this change, most notably the rising total cost of ownership for many workloads in public clouds, paired with the decreasing price of enterprise hardware that makes private cloud and on-premises solutions far more attractive. Additionally, new options, such as special-purpose clouds, sovereign clouds, colocation facilities, and managed service providers, are emerging as compelling alternatives. This evolving landscape enables enterprises better to control costs, performance, and regulatory compliance. As global businesses seek to optimize their IT portfolios, the myth of inevitable all-in public cloud adoption is being replaced by a more nuanced, pragmatic approach—one focused on flexibility, business requirements, and maximizing long-term value.

Cloud migration is a critical step for organizations looking to modernize infrastructure, improve scalability, and drive innovation. In this video, we provide a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the essential aspects of migrating workloads and data to the cloud. You'll learn about the most common migration pitfalls that can stall your project, from underestimating legacy system complexity to hidden costs and downtime issues. We dive into various migration strategies—including rehosting, refactoring, and replatforming—and discuss how to choose the best path based on your business objectives and technical requirements.

Security and compliance are front-and-center considerations, and we address how to embed robust practices from the outset to protect sensitive data and meet regulatory standards. The video also covers practical guidance on minimizing business disruption during migration, managing costs throughout the process, and supporting your team through comprehensive training and change management initiatives. Post-migration, we explore strategies for continuous optimization to ensure long-term success, including leveraging cloud-native features for improved performance and cost savings. Finally, we share lessons learned from real-world migrations—both successful and challenging—to help you plan smarter and avoid common mistakes. Whether you’re planning your first migration or optimizing ongoing cloud initiatives, this guide will equip you with the knowledge you need.

When it comes to cloud computing, most of the attention is focused on migration—moving workloads and data into the cloud, chasing promises of scalability, agility, and cost savings. But what we don’t hear about nearly as often are the projects going in the other direction: enterprises quietly moving data and workloads back out of the cloud, a process known as cloud repatriation. Here’s the reality most people rarely discuss: a staggering 98 percent of cloud repatriation projects are handled in secret. In many cases, these initiatives aren’t just kept quiet externally—they’re often shielded from employees and, sometimes, even from leadership outside of the core IT or operations teams.

Why such secrecy? For many organizations, admitting to repatriating workloads is seen as an acknowledgment that the original cloud migration was a misstep. There’s a fear of reputational risk, internal embarrassment, and scrutiny from stakeholders. Furthermore, unless there’s a strong marketing or financial incentive—like a technology partner offering deep discounts for going public—there’s simply no business advantage to sharing these details. In this video, I’ll break down why most enterprises keep their cloud repatriations in the shadows, and explore what this means for the future of cloud strategy.