Moving from On-Prem to Cloud to “Cloud-Prem”
Is the Tech World going in Circles?
When the tech industry shifted from on premises solutions to the cloud, it felt like a door was opening to endless possibilities. The cloud promises flexibility, scalability, and seamless connectivity. But, too much openness might not be beneficial. Enter the concept of “cloud-prem,” a hybrid solution that combines the best of both worlds. I believe this move presents unique challenges and opportunities that merit a closer look.
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The Evolution: On-Prem to Cloud to Cloud-Prem
On-Prem: The Home-Cooked Meal
For a long time, on-premises solutions were the kings of the tech world. Companies ran their data centers, managed their hardware, and fully controlled everything. This setup is akin to cooking meals at home. You controlled everything: you owned the kitchen, bought the ingredients, prepared the meal, set the table, and cleaned up afterward. While this allowed for customization and control, it also meant higher costs, more time, effort, and the complex nature of maintenance.
Cloud: Dining at a Restaurant
Then came the cloud revolution. It promised cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and, most importantly, the ability to connect various services easily. Businesses could leverage external servers and services, enjoying flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness without managing infrastructure. The capacity to deploy services swiftly, scale on demand, and connect different services seamlessly was transformative. This is similar to the rise of restaurants. You could enjoy a delicious meal without the hassle of cooking or cleaning. You simply picked a restaurant, ordered your meal, and enjoyed it. However, you had less control over the preparation and relied on the restaurant (cloud provider) to handle everything.
The Catch: Too Much Openness
But as with most things, too much of a good thing can sometimes lead to problems. The cloud’s openness and interconnected nature introduced new vulnerabilities. Security concerns mounted, and visibility became a significant challenge with data spread across multiple services and geographies. The dream scenario began to fray at the edges.
“With greater power came great responsibility” — Voltaire
The lack of control and increased complexity began to raise eyebrows.
The industry needed a middle ground — a way to enjoy the benefits of the cloud while retaining some of the control and security that on-premises solutions provided.
Cloud-Prem: Dining at a Collaborative Cooking Space
Enter “cloud-prem,” a new approach where you have a cloud offering, you develop on it but can also deploy SaaS offering into the environments. Now, imagine a hybrid dining experience: a collaborative cooking space where you bring your ingredients, and a professional kitchen provides the tools, space, and some assistance. You can cook your meal with their high-end equipment, ensuring quality and control while still benefiting from their resources and expertise. Or you could bring in a chef of your choice to cook a meal for you. This model aims to offer the best of both worlds: the flexibility and scalability of the cloud with the control and security of on-prem solutions.
But what exactly does “cloud-prem” entail, and what are its implications for providers and users?
Roles in the Cloud-Prem Model
This new paradigm brings nuances to the term “provider.” For that purpose, I will split the roles into distinct entities:
SaaS Application Host (The Kitchen Provider)
The SaaS Application Host is like the provider of the collaborative kitchen. They offer the infrastructure, tools, and space for you to cook your meal (deploy your application). Example: Companies like Snowflake, which provides managed SaaS offerings, play this role by hosting and managing the cloud infrastructure.
SaaS Application Deployer (The Chef)
The SaaS Application Deployer is a SaaS developer, the chef, bringing their ingredients (software application) to the collaborative kitchen. They utilize the provided tools and space to create your dish. This role involves developing and deploying the software application to the host’s infrastructure, leveraging the cloud platform to deliver the SaaS to end-users.
Enterprise/Business (Consumer of the Meal)
The enterprise or business is the consumer who enjoys the final meal. They benefit from the expertise and resources of the collaborative kitchen (SaaS Application Host) and the skills and creativity of the chef (SaaS Application Deployer). The consumer seeks a high-quality, reliable, and secure dining experience (software solution) without worrying about the complexities behind its preparation.
While this model offers many advantages, it also presents new challenges. Providers need to ensure comprehensive visibility and governance. After all, combining two environments means double the oversight.
Challenges and Considerations
SaaS Application Host: The Kitchen Provider
- Visibility: The host must maintain a clear line of sight between the standard SaaS offering and the deployed application within the service. Implementing a standardized monitoring and logging system is crucial. This might mean investing in advanced AI/ML tools for real-time monitoring and diagnostics.
- Security: The hybrid approach can broaden the attack surface as a third party deploys code into a secure environment. Security protocols must be robust, and frequent audits should be a standard practice. Encryption and endpoint security solutions will be vital.
- Integration and Performance Optimization: Seamless integration is easier said than done. Effectively leveraging APIs and ensuring they are compatible across platforms is a make-or-break factor. Performance tuning across varied environments also requires significant effort and expertise.
- Feature and Process Development: Hosts must offer new features and processes tailored to the developer persona. This means providing comprehensive development environments, debugging tools, and rapid iteration and deployment support.
SaaS Application Deployer: The Chef
- Architectural Rethinking: Deployers need to rethink their architecture from multi-tenant to single-tenant. This shift requires significant changes in how applications are designed, developed, optimized, and maintained.
- Observability and User Logging: Deployers must enhance their observability and user logging capabilities to effectively understand app usage in a new paradigm where they do not control the environment. This involves reconsidering user tracking, event monitoring, and associated tooling.
- Standards and Compliance: When deploying to other locations, increased complexity in standards and compliance is inevitable. Deployers must navigate diverse regulatory landscapes, ensuring their solutions meet all necessary compliance requirements. A unified governance framework is essential to managing this complexity. Each deployment into alternative hosts will require rework and significant maintenance without standardization.
Enterprise/Business: Consumer of the Meal
- Vendor Management: With cloud-prem, enterprises interact with multiple vendors (SaaS Application Host and Deployer). Managing these relationships, ensuring seamless collaboration, and maintaining service level agreements (SLAs) can be complex.
- Integration and Interoperability: Enterprises need to ensure that their various applications and services can seamlessly integrate and work together across different environments. This requires investment in integration platforms and expertise in managing interoperability.
- Cost Management: While cloud-prem offers flexibility and scalability, managing costs across multiple environments can be challenging. Enterprises must carefully monitor usage, optimize resource allocation, and avoid unexpected expenses.
Looking Forward
Ultimately, it might seem like we’re going in circles — moving from on-prem solutions to the cloud and blending both to form “cloud-prem.” However, this cyclical journey isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Each phase has brought us closer to finding a balanced, effective solution for today’s tech challenges.
The transition to “cloud-prem” is not merely a reversal but an evolution — a step toward a more controlled, secure, and scalable future. As we navigate this new landscape, the experience gathered from purely on-prem and cloud-based solutions will serve as invaluable guides.
Stay tuned, adapt, and embrace the change. The future is hybrid, and it looks promising.
