IT assets being handled by systems outside of traditional data center firewalls has never been acceptable to the individuals who maintain those systems. When I first prophesied that this would happen years ago, people frequently laughed and didn’t believe me. Even then, there were obvious indications

By 2027, 35% of data centre infrastructure, according to Gartner research, will be managed via a cloud-based control plane. Gartner advises CIOs to give their data centres’ cloud-native infrastructure development top priority. It’s critical to realise that the increased use of public clouds will have a significant influence on a number of enterprise systems, both inside and outside of public clouds. For a few key causes, this is most likely to occur.

First off, public cloud providers are where the majority of operational breakthroughs, such as the use of artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technology, take place. It’s logical to expect that we’ll use cloud technology to manage every system, wherever it may be.

Second, on average, it is less expensive to use these kinds of operations models. The overall cost of ownership is significantly reduced because to better technologies.

Exactly why the cloud?

The following benefits come from employing cloud-based operations solutions to manage on-premises operations:

flexibility and scalability. Companies may simply adapt their operations to demand thanks to cloud-based operational solutions. Variations in workload can be effectively managed by the elastic resources of the cloud.
centralised administration. With the use of cloud-based solutions, businesses can efficiently and consistently manage both on-premises and cloud-based operations from a single central platform.
Efficacy and automation. Businesses can automate repetitive procedures and processes with the use of cloud-based operations solutions, which offer strong automation capabilities. This improves operational effectiveness and lessens manual labour and mistakes made by humans.

In the cloud, why not?

What are the drawbacks then? Several spring to mind:

the latency and connectivity. The major ones are those. When using cloud-based solutions to manage on-premises activities, a steady, quick internet connection is essential. The performance of a tool might be significantly impacted and activities can be disrupted by unstable or slow network connections.
data privacy and security. Tools that use the cloud for on-premises activities may send and store private information there. Security may be a problem for organisations, although these worries are frequently exaggerated. According to research, cloud-based systems offer more advanced security features than those that are installed on-site. However, some people might still consider having data off-site to be a drawback.
reliance on a cloud service provider. Use cloud-based solutions with caution when conducting on-premises operations. Dependence on the infrastructure of a single supplier can exist, however this is frequently an exaggerated worry. Unless you have thoroughly analysed the design and it makes sense for certain business reasons, be sure your infrastructure is not primarily created through one cloud provider.
Regulation observance. Businesses may encounter compliance issues when using cloud-based solutions to manage on-premises operations. These may develop as a result of various regulatory requirements that vary by industry and geography. Companies must keep control over their data in order to uphold their duties notwithstanding these requirements.
obnoxious vendor lock-in. The use of cloud-based tools for on-premises operations is frequently thought to lead to vendor lock-in. However, regardless of where they are located, this holds true for all operations tools, not just cloud-based ones.

It is no longer necessary to speculate about the viability of mass adoption of cloud-based IT operations. How quickly it will become the norm is currently the main concern. I believe it will spread over time as a result of the implementation of a few cloud-based operational systems to address particular requirements, eventually becoming widely used without much fanfare.

It is anticipated that many operational technology providers won’t offer on-premises solutions when they transition to a “cloud-only” strategy. Most providers may decide to concentrate just on cloud-based systems because maintaining two different deployment options can be expensive. The investments made in this area by other service providers have an impact on this choice.

In the end, the drawbacks are primarily based on opinions rather than reality. The truth will result in operations that are better, more cost-effective, and more efficient. It makes no difference how we accomplish our objectives or where we look for solutions.