Infrastructure Observability Can Help Navigate Cloud Repatriation

Cloud repatriation is a term used to describe the act of taking workloads off public clouds and relocating them elsewhere. This might involve moving them back to an on-premises environment.

Reasons for cloud repatriation

• Cost: Companies often start using cloud providers due to ease of use and relatively low upfront costs. However, as their data and user base grow, the cost of cloud services can spin out of control. Bringing applications, data, and services in-house often leads to cost savings.
• Internal policies: Some industries, such as healthcare and financial services, have strict regulations regarding sensitive patient or customer data. Keeping certain information in-house helps ensure compliance with these regulations.
• Storage needs: Companies with requirements for collecting and retaining large amounts of data may find it more efficient to store that data in their own data centers rather than paying an ever-expanding cloud storage bill.

Strategic decision-making is often needed to determine whether to undertake a cloud repatriation project. IT organizations need to weigh factors like cost, compliance, and control. Cloud repatriation is based on the recognition  that not everything should be hosted in public cloud environments. Cloud repatriation suits organizations that need to minimize latency, face regulatory challenges, or find their public cloud provider’s offerings inadequate.

While public cloud services have benefits, there are cloud repatriation scenarios in which bringing workloads into hybrid cloud environments makes sense.

Role of hybrid cloud in repatriation

Hybrid cloud—a combination of public cloud, private cloud, and/or traditional on-premises data centers—plays a significant role in the context of cloud repatriation. Hybrid cloud serves as a bridge between public cloud services and on-premises infrastructure, offering a balanced approach that leverages the advantages of both environments.

Here are some of the ways hybrid cloud fits into cloud repatriation:

• Flexibility: Hybrid cloud allows organizations to maintain a mix of on-premises, private cloud, and public cloud services. This flexibility enables businesses to choose the best environment for each workload based on factors like cost, performance, and regulatory compliance.
• Cost optimization: Organizations can optimize costs by running workloads in the most cost-effective environment. Non-critical, variable workloads can be placed in the public cloud to take advantage of its pay-as-you-go model, while stable, predictable workloads can be kept on-premises to avoid recurring cloud costs.
• Seamless workload migration: Hybrid cloud strategies can facilitate seamless workload migration as demand peaks or declines. This enables organizations to move workloads between cloud and on-premises environments with minimal disruption to business operations.
• Control and security: By using a hybrid cloud strategy, IT organizations can keep sensitive data and critical workloads on-premises or in a private cloud for enhanced control and security, while still enjoying the scalability of the public cloud for less sensitive tasks.
• Compliance and performance: For enterprises, government agencies, and managed service providers facing strict regulatory requirements or needing to minimize latency, hybrid cloud provides a way to comply with regulations and improve performance by keeping certain workloads closer to end-users.

In essence, hybrid cloud provides a strategic and flexible platform for organizations to repatriate certain workloads from the public cloud, while still maintaining the ability to scale and innovate using cloud technologies. It is a moderated approach that acknowledges the strengths and limitations of both on-premises and public cloud environments, allowing for a more tailored IT infrastructure.

AIOps and Observability solutions, particularly when DX UIM infrastructure monitoring is integrated with DX Operational Intelligence operational observability, play a pivotal role in supporting infrastructure observability, which is essential for effective cloud repatriation.

Easing cloud repatriation with infrastructure observability

Here is how infrastructure observability contributes to the repatriation process:

1. Enhanced observability: DX UIM provides full-stack infrastructure observability for hybrid cloud environments. This observability is crucial for understanding the performance and health of workloads that may be candidates for repatriation.
   
   Figure 1: True hybrid monitoring—across the infrastructure estate
2. Actionable insights: The integration with DX Operational Intelligence leverages advanced analytics and machine learning to deliver actionable insights. This helps in making informed decisions about which workloads to move from the cloud to on-premises or hybrid cloud environments.
   
   Figure 2: DX Operational Intelligence offers actionable insights
3. Intelligent automation: The AIOps and Observability solution by Broadcom enables intelligent automation across the IT operations stack. This can streamline the repatriation process by automating routine tasks and orchestrating complex workflows.
4. Custom observability views: The latest release of DX UIM, version 23.4, introduced features like Observability View Designer and Observability View that enable the creation of custom, role-based contextual views. This helps in managing infrastructure with a focus on the specific needs of cloud repatriation.
   
   Figure 3: Unified observability across full stack
5. Zero-touch monitoring: The Monitoring Configuration Service (MCS) enhancements in DX UIM 23.4 offer improved zero-touch monitoring configuration and alarm policy management. This supports the repatriation process by simplifying the monitoring of repatriated workloads.
   
   Figure 4: Zero-touch onboarding for quicker time-to-value
6. Scalability and resilience: Tools like DX UIM are designed to handle inventories in web-scale data centers, offering better supportability and stability for customers transitioning from cloud to on-premises environments.

In summary, AIOps and Observability by Broadcom, which features DX UIM and DX Operational Intelligence, provides a robust framework for monitoring, managing, and optimizing IT infrastructures during cloud repatriation. The solution ensures that IT organizations have the visibility, insights, and automation needed to successfully navigate the transition from public cloud to hybrid cloud environments.