The Rise of On-Premises IT Infrastructure: Why Companies Are Taking Control of Their Data
In recent years, the IT industry has witnessed a significant shift in the way companies approach their infrastructure needs. After a decade-long rush to the cloud, many organizations are now exploring ways to exercise more control over their data and IT infrastructure. This trend, often referred to as on-premises or on-prem, is gaining renewed interest thanks to factors such as data privacy and security concerns, regulations designed to hold organizations accountable for the data they collect, and the rise of artificial intelligence.
According to Hang Tan, the hybrid cloud chief operating officer of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, there is a growing demand for on-premises infrastructure. “I don’t think customers are thinking about it like it’s a zero-sum game where either something goes to the public cloud or entirely on-prem,” Tan told Business Insider. “There’s a recognition that customers need to have a more hybrid environment.”
But what’s driving this trend?
The Need for Control and Governance
The push for on-premises infrastructure is a response to concerns about the reliability, security, and cost-effectiveness of cloud services. It’s not a binary choice between hosting IT networks on the cloud and hosting them on-prem. Often the most important decision isn’t about the physical location of an organization’s infrastructure but about the level of security and control the organization is given over it.
Peter Wang, the cofounder and chief innovation officer of Anaconda, a software developer that helps organizations use Python for business analytics, agrees. “It’s more about the governance of infrastructure, including data, networking, and servers,” Wang said. “Who manages it? Who gets to say, ‘No, absolutely, you can’t do that.’”
AI: The Catalyst for Change
Artificial intelligence is another factor driving the trend towards on-premises infrastructure. As AI becomes increasingly important for business operations, companies need to rethink their IT infrastructure to accommodate the massive amounts of data required to power AI systems.
“AI is pouring rocket fuel into the on-prem trend,” Tan said. “Because the data is dominating the equation, you have to move the application to the data, not the other way around.”
Dennis Duckworth, the head of product and end-user experience at Kindo, an AI-driven workforce-software developer, offered a similar perspective. “AI requires a secure management platform that lets organizations control which users have access to internal AI resources,” Duckworth said.
The Role of Regulation
Regulatory concerns are further strengthening interest in on-premises infrastructure. As the landscape of data protection and AI regulation evolves rapidly, companies need to ensure they are compliant with varying rules and requirements.
“The regulatory future is going to be complex,” Duckworth said.
In conclusion, the trend towards on-premises infrastructure is driven by a need for control, governance, and security. As AI becomes increasingly important for business operations, companies need to rethink their IT infrastructure to accommodate the massive amounts of data required to power AI systems. With regulatory concerns on the rise, it’s clear that on-premises infrastructure is here to stay.
