Your cloud is a strategic choice, not a technical one…
Lately, I have been hearing the same question more and more often in conversations. Not literally, but between the lines: “Did we actually think this through properly?” We are talking about customers’ decisions to implement a public cloud first strategy. And no, not about performance, features, or tooling. But about control, dependency, and the world we operate in. Let me try to organize my thoughts.
We underestimate geopolitics (especially in Western Europe). I travel a lot (perhaps too much). I speak with customers in various European countries, but also with many customers, partners, and vendors from all over the world. What stands out to me is how differently geopolitics is perceived.
In parts of Eastern Europe, there is a very sharp awareness that stability is never a given. This is not something that has emerged only in recent months or years. It has always been there. Their history has made them far less naïve about the idea that peace is guaranteed, and that neighbors you got along with yesterday may have very different intentions tomorrow.
In Western Europe, we often live with the idea that tomorrow will be roughly the same as today and even worse, that we are entitled to that. When I speak with friends or family, I am often surprised at how easily they assume their future is well-organized simply because they have a right to it. I have to admit, it feels very comfortable. Carefree. But it is also naïve.
The world has become more unstable compared to a few years ago for large parts of Europe. Politics, economics, and technology are increasingly intertwined. And that reality does not stop at the IT doorstep.
Cloud choices are also political choices
A few years ago, I wrote a blog about security titled “if you got any political clue at all”, referring to a quote by Bob Dylan about a true story involving the African American boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. He was wrongly convicted of a triple murder, while it was obvious that the case was based on racism and abuse of power. What I find interesting about that statement, which has always stuck with me, is that you need to form your own view of a situation. If you dare to think even a little about what you see, it often does not take much intelligence to recognize that something is wrong or will become a problem in the future.
Over the past ten years, I have had weekly conversations with customers about their public cloud first strategy. There were customers who got tired of my nagging, and it was often a balancing act between being outspoken and maintaining the relationship. The problem is that public cloud was long seen as a technical and financial decision. Faster, more flexible, less management. In some cases, this is absolutely true. In many cases, it turned out to be not much more then a promise.
In customer conversations, I often noticed that the biggest driver was the desire to get rid of complexity, because many had lost control and oversight. Unfortunately, the relief was short lived, because in practice the complexity only increased. What I have always missed in the discussion is the “political clue” perspective.
When an organization places its core infrastructure entirely with a single external provider that falls under legislation you have no influence over, that is more than an IT choice. It is a dependency choice.
That is when you need to ask yourself questions such as:
- What happens if regulations change?
- What happens if access is no longer guaranteed?
- What happens if geopolitical tensions increase?
I am not saying that working with large technology companies is wrong. On the contrary. I think they can bring a lot of value. They have scale, innovation power, and often much more boldness. But being fully dependent… that is the risk.
Keeping your data and infrastructure sovereign is not a checkbox
I believe that with data, you should always ask yourself a few basic questions. Where is the data located, who can access it, under which legislation does it fall, which infrastructure and applications do I need to use this data, and above all, can I use it sovereignly in a situation where my suppliers cannot or will not deliver for geopolitical reasons.
This is where things often go wrong with customers. They think that protecting their data is sufficient. If your applications run elsewhere and access is lost, perfectly protected data is of little use. Data without infrastructure and applications is useless. If you truly want to have control over your data as a customer, that also means you need control over your infrastructure and applications.
Isn’t private cloud a step backwards? A common argument is: “Private cloud is outdated and complex.”
One of the main reasons customers wanted to move away from their old infrastructure strategy was its complexity. Many IT decision makers were tired of working weekends for upgrades, large CAPEX investments, complex projects, disruptions with high stress levels, where the internal IT organization was responsible for resolving everything themselves. Customers thought that outsourcing would eliminate these problems. That is partly true.
But that does not mean this is no longer possible today with your own private cloud. The modern private cloud is highly standardized, there are plenty of models to make it scalable, management can be handled by very small teams or outsourced to local trusted partners. And CAPEX can be converted to OPEX at a much healthier cost level. You really do not need to build your own data center anymore. You can, but you absolutely do not have to. And no, you also do not need to hire armies of engineers anymore.
In conclusion
My message is simple, but not always comfortable: stop being naïve. Look beyond cost and convenience.
Ask yourself different questions:
- What does this choice mean in five or ten years?
- What if circumstances change?
- How agile are we really?
Cloud is not an end state. It is a strategic tool. And strategy requires thinking, scenarios, and sometimes letting go of assumptions that have long been taken for granted. Johan van Amersfoort and I talked about these topics in the latest ITQ's Private Cloud Café episode. Watch or listen to the latest episode here!
As always, if this makes you think, or if you strongly disagree, I would love to hear from you. I enjoy these kinds of conversations and challenging perspectives. You can reach me directly via [email protected].
