Cloud repatriation has become a hot topic lately and we’re seeing a real shift from cloud-first strategies. For many Netprotocol clients, especially in legal and professional services, build-your-own private cloud is proving to be the sweet spot: offering the flexibility of public cloud with the familiarity, control, predictability and compliance of on-premise infrastructure.

Mike Batters, Technical Director

Over the past decade, the cloud revolutionised how businesses thought about infrastructure. Scalability, flexibility, and reduced maintenance made public cloud an obvious choice for many. In 2024 a quiet shift began and is gaining momentum in 2025 : on-premise / owned infrastructure is back in favour - and it’s not just about nostalgia.

A recent Towards Data Science article explores this growing trend. It reveals how organisations - especially in sectors like legal, professional services and finance - are re-evaluating their reliance on public cloud platforms like AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, and investing in more controlled, on-premise or hybrid environments.

So why the shift?

1. Predictability of Cost

Public cloud was once praised for its pay-as-you-go model, but many organisations have learned the hard way that cloud costs can spiral without warning. Costs increase based on unplanned usage, usually at a premium rate & vendors levy annual price increases where customers have no ability to negotiate.  On-premise solutions, no longer require upfront investment, offer greater control and predictability in long-term budgeting and can now be paid for on simple usage based models

Public Cloud was also praised for almost infinite flexibility.  Many organisations have found, in practice, that while being able to flex is useful it is limited to much smaller amounts than expected (10-20%) which is also now available in the on-premise infrastructure usage billing model.

On-premise now delivers the best of both worlds.  Reduced & predictable OpEx cost with real world flexibility available on demand.

2. Security and Compliance

Highly regulated sectors have always needed robust data governance. With increasing scrutiny around data privacy, keeping infrastructure on-site or in a private cloud ensures tighter control, helping organisations meet GDPR, ISO 27001, and other compliance requirements more easily.

3. Performance and Locality

Latency-sensitive applications (such as case management software or virtual desktops) often perform better on local infrastructure. And with today’s advanced hardware, on-premiseservers can be as powerful and scalable as their cloud counterparts — if set up correctly.

4. Sovereignty and Control

Companies are waking up to the risks of vendor lock-in and data residency. On-premise systems give organisations complete control over their infrastructure, their data, and their future.

5. Technical Skills

Despite how long public cloud services have been available there is still a significant skills shortage. Skilled engineers command premium salaries & are difficult to retain.  Moving back to on-premise solutions allows IT teams to leverage existing skills that exist in house.

So where does the 'private cloud' fit in?

Not every business wants to go fully cloud or fully on-premise. That’s where the concept of in-premise private cloud comes in, a modern infrastructure approach that combines the flexibility of cloud with the security and control of on-premise.

Organisations are now looking at building their own private clouds, saving budget, utilising existing knowledge & skills, providing on-demand flexibility and retaining full control of their mission critical applications.

What this means for law firms and professional services

At Netprotocol, we’ve been helping legal and professional services firms navigate this evolving IT landscape. Many of our clients are rethinking their cloud-first strategies and opting for tailored, hybrid infrastructures — combining private cloud with on-premise hardware to achieve the right balance of performance, compliance, and cost-efficiency.

If you’re exploring alternatives to your current setup or want to understand how on-premise might fit into your future IT strategy, let’s talk.

Get in touch and have a chat with one of our technical consultants.