Cloud-based IT operations are on the rise

The people who maintain traditional data center systems have always objected to having IT assets managed by systems outside their firewalls. Years ago, when I predicted that this would happen, people would often laugh and not believe me. The signs were clear, even back then.

Today, Gartner research predicts that 35% of data center infrastructure will be managed from a cloud-based control plane by 2027. According to Gartner, CIOs should prioritize the development of cloud-native infrastructure within their data centers. It is important to understand that the rise of public cloud usage will heavily impact many enterprise systems both inside and outside of public clouds. This is likely to happen for a few major reasons.

First, most of the operational innovations, including the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, occur within public cloud providers. It’s reasonable to assume that we will utilize cloud technology to oversee all systems, regardless of their location.

Second, it’s cheaper to leverage these types of operations models, on average. It’s better technology with a much lower total cost of ownership.

Why in the cloud?

The advantages of using cloud-based operations tools to control on-premises operations include:

Why not in the cloud?

So, what are the disadvantages? A few come to mind:

The question of whether cloud-based IT operations will become a widespread reality is no longer relevant. The focus now is on how quickly it will become the norm. My prediction is that it will gradually gain ground through the deployment of a few cloud-based operations systems to meet specific needs, ultimately becoming ubiquitous without much fanfare.

As many operational technology providers shift to a “cloud-only” model, it is likely that they will no longer offer on-premises alternatives. Maintaining two types of deployments can be costly, so most providers may choose to focus solely on cloud-based systems. This decision is influenced by the investments made by other providers in this area.

At the end of the day, the downsides are mostly based on perceptions rather than facts. The facts will lead to improved and more efficient operations that are less costly. It doesn’t matter how we reach our goals or where we find the solutions.