Remote SupportOverview
The blanket "move everything to the cloud" advice of 2015 has matured. Some workloads still run better on-premises. Others are obviously cloud-only. Most businesses end up hybrid. The right question is not cloud vs on-prem, it is workload-by-workload fit.
When On-Premises Still Makes Sense
Line-of-business apps that have not been ported to SaaS
Legacy ERP, CAD servers, older accounting stacks. Cloud migration is a project, not a switch-on.
Heavy file workloads on local networks
CAD, video production, drafting. Local NAS outperforms cloud storage for large active files.
Local compute near machines / IoT / OT
Manufacturing, logistics, healthcare imaging. Latency matters.
Data sovereignty or sensitivity concerns
Where cloud is not an option for regulatory reasons.
Remote sites with poor internet
Rural, mining, construction. Local file and print still beats cloud over a poor link.
When Cloud Is Better
Email and collaboration
No debate. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. On-prem Exchange is end-of-life thinking.
Standard file and document sharing
SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive. Better than a file server for most.
Light-to-medium virtualisation
Azure, AWS, GCP. Pay only for what you run.
Dev, test, and burst capacity
Cloud excels. Scale up, scale down.
Disaster recovery targets
Azure Site Recovery, AWS DRS. Cheaper than running a second DR site.
Backup offsite
Cloud backup beats trucking tapes. Immutability easier to implement.
Hybrid Is the Common Answer
Most Australian SMBs end up hybrid. Email and docs in Microsoft 365. Line-of-business apps on-premises or in Azure. File collaboration in SharePoint. Heavy local workloads still local. Backup in the cloud. Identity synchronised. Hybrid is not a failure, it is a design choice.
Total Cost of Ownership: Real Numbers
Naive comparisons show cloud always cheaper. Real TCO includes hardware, software, support, space, power, backup, migration, and the time of your team.
On-prem cost inclusions
- Hardware (server, storage, UPS, switch)
- Windows Server / VMware / Hyper-V licences
- Backup hardware and software
- 5-year refresh cycle
- Rack space, power, cooling
- Specialist support and maintenance
- Insurance
Cloud cost inclusions
- Compute and storage (hourly / monthly)
- Egress (data out) charges
- Reserved or savings plan commitments
- Backup service
- Disaster recovery tier if configured
- Support tier (Business or Enterprise)
- Migration and engineering time
For steady 24/7 workloads, on-prem often wins over 5 years with reservations. For variable or short-lived workloads, cloud wins on flexibility alone.
Migration Planning
Inventory every server and service
What runs where, who depends on it, what it costs to run.
Classify by cloud readiness
Easy lift, needs refactor, cloud-hostile, stays local.
Start with low-risk wins
File server to SharePoint, dev VMs to Azure, backup to cloud.
Refactor or retire legacy apps
Apps built for Server 2008 are not going to lift-and-shift well. Plan upgrade or replacement.
Keep truly local workloads local
CAD, video, OT. Design for local speed, not cloud elegance.
Review annually
Cloud-native alternatives appear. Workloads shift. Review every 12 months.
Common Mistakes
Lifting and shifting without refactoring
Run an old VM in Azure, pay cloud prices for old architecture. Refactor or stay local.
Ignoring egress in cloud TCO
Pulling data out of cloud costs real money. Factor it into DR and backup designs.
Keeping a server for one legacy app
Entire refresh cycle to support one app. Look at hosted alternatives or cloud re-platforming.
No reserved instances / savings plans
30-60% savings left on the table. Commit to known-steady workloads.
Over-sizing cloud VMs
Clients often size cloud the same as physical. Cloud VMs should be smaller and burst.
Related: Azure vs AWS vs GCP, Azure Backup.
Plan the Right Infrastructure Mix
We run infrastructure reviews across on-premises, Azure, AWS, GCP, and hybrid designs. Vendor-neutral, TCO-driven recommendations.