Text: Michel Heinst, CEO and owner Tech Outlet Ltd
The promise was tempting in its simplicity: no more own servers, no worries about updates or security patches, and infinite scalability available at the push of a button. Anyone investing in their own 'iron' in 2015 was met with pitying looks.
By 2025, however, the atmosphere has radically changed. The honeymoon period with the hyperscalers - Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud - is definitively over. What began as a flirtation with flexibility and modernization has turned into a stifling marriage for many Dutch organizations, characterized by vendor lock-in, unpredictable cost explosions, and a fundamental lack of control over their own data.
IDC predicts that by 2026, as many as 65% of enterprises will switch to a hybrid model, where data processing and AI tasks are pulled back to the edge or on-premise environments. McKinsey notes a clear trend reversal: CIOs in Europe are shifting their focus from pure cloud adoption to digital sovereignty and cost control.
This report analyzes not only the numbers but also the human and organizational stories behind this movement. Why does a successful SaaS entrepreneur choose to leave the cloud for dedicated servers? Why does the Dutch government shudder at the thought of American data seizures? And is it technically and financially feasible to regain control?
This article is part of a series. The previous part, EU Regulation and Gaia-X, went online last Tuesday. The complete series can be viewed here.
The Great Cloud Exodus, Part VII: Risks of Leaving the Cloud
We have discussed the benefits of leaving the cloud well, but honesty also requires mentioning: it is not without challenges.
Initial Time Investment
Migrating takes time. An entrepreneur spent significantly more time on infrastructure during the migration to Kubernetes and Docker at the beginning of 2024. With AI assistance and experience, this returned to normal levels.
Technical Knowledge
When leaving the cloud, you need to have or hire more technical knowledge. Cloud providers offer managed services for databases, caching, and monitoring. You now have to set this up yourself.
Certain Services Remain Challenging
Certain services remain difficult to make cloud-independent. Object storage for example: alternatives like Cloudflare R2 or Wasabi are vendor-specific but cheaper than AWS S3. Minio is open-source and S3-compatible, but requires expertise.
For authentication, Keycloak is the open-source alternative to AWS Cognito, but the UX may fall short. For CDN and DDoS, CloudFlare fills this gap, but pure open-source alternatives are lacking.
The Best of Both Worlds
The practical route is often hybrid. Generic or publicly safe tasks can be safely kept in the cloud, but confidential documents are best stored in local infrastructure. If you do not have the capacity to keep all confidential information in-house, aim for private endpoints in EU data centers.
Cloud Exodus in Practice
We have now outlined all the pros and cons and prepared the solutions for you. Now the question remains: how does it work in practice? A number of organizations have gone before you. We will discuss these next week in the eighth part of 'The Great Cloud Exodus': Success Stories from Europe.
This is the seventh part of the series 'The Great Cloud Exodus', in collaboration with Michel Heinst from Tech Outlet. The eighth part of the series will be published next week.
About TechOutlet.eu
TechOutlet.eu has been a specialist in enterprise IT hardware for the Benelux since 2014. They supply EOL (End-of-Life) and new servers, workstations, and laptops from brands like HP, Dell, and Lenovo to SMEs, government, and healthcare.
The focus is on:
- Digital Sovereignty: Hardware that you fully own and manage
- Flexibility: Choice between EOL (cost-effective) and new hardware (compliance)
- Sustainability: Optimal use of hardware lifespan
- Cost Efficiency: Enterprise quality for SME budgets
- Fast Delivery: 24-hour delivery from Dutch stock
Contact: For advice on your cloud exit strategy and the necessary hardware, please contact us via www.techoutlet.eu
