Cloud Sovereignty & On-Premises

Cloud Backshift strategies for technological reorientation and architectural sovereignty.

Cloud backshift strategy: Repatriation of critical systems for data sovereignty and on-premises solutions

Sovereignty & Control

Cloud Sovereignty & On-Premises Strategies (Cloud Backshift)

Cloud Backshift describes the conscious reorientation from pure public cloud models towards hybrid or on-premises-strong architectures. The goal is to combine data sovereignty, compliance security and cost control with the innovation speed of modern cloud stacks.

Analysis of cloud dependencies, operational & license costs

Development of individual backshift roadmaps & workload placement

Building automated on-prem/private cloud platforms (e.g. Kubernetes)

Sovereign hybrid models with national providers

Governance for data classification, security & costs

Why the Shift: Challenges & Drivers

Regulation, Data Protection, Data Sovereignty

Regulatory requirements – especially in the EU – require organizations to know where their data is located, who can access it, and under what legal framework this occurs.

According to a BARC study, 69% of surveyed companies stated that new legal requirements are the main driver for data sovereignty needs.

The study "The cloud sovereignty nexus" (Wiley, 2024) argues that the EU uses a variety of regulations and industrial policy tools to reduce digital dependencies.

Strategic Claim to Control and Independence

For many companies, it's not just about compliance, but about digital autonomy: Trust that data, algorithms, and infrastructure remain within their own sphere of influence.

According to RedHat analysis, 84% of surveyed companies saw data sovereignty as central to their strategy.

BCG ("Sovereign Clouds Are Reshaping National Data Security", 2025) emphasizes: If critical digital assets are not at least partially locally controlled, risks arise – especially for states and large enterprises.

Limits of Classic Public Cloud & On-Premises or Hybrid Trend

The classic vision of "everything in the public cloud" is increasingly viewed in a differentiated manner.

According to BARC, 19% of companies are planning increased investments in on-premises infrastructure, and 13% have completely stopped or slowed down their cloud migration – primarily due to sovereignty and compliance aspects.

Solution Approach: "Cloud Backshift" – sovereign, hybrid, controlled

Der Begriff "Cloud Backshift" steht hier für die bewusste Rück‑ oder Neuausrichtung von reinen Public‑Cloud‑Modellen zu Architekturen, in denen On‑Premises (Eigenbetrieb) oder souveräne Cloud‑Lösungen eine wesentliche Rolle spielen. Dieses Vorgehen zielt darauf ab:

Souveränität über Daten, Infrastruktur und Prozesse zurückzugewinnen oder auszubauen. .">Regulatorischen und geopolitischen Risiken zu begegnen. , mais pas au prix d'une perte de contrôle.">Flexibilität und Agilität zu behalten, jedoch nicht um den Preis von Kontrollverlust.

Langfristige Kosten‑ und Geschäftsmodell‑Stabilität sicherzustellen.

Strategy Elements of a Sovereign Cloud Architecture

Ermitteln Sie, welche Daten und Workloads kritisch sind – z. B. aus Sicht Compliance, Datenschutz, Betriebsrisiko oder Geschäftsmodell. Eine Studie von A1.digital empfiehlt die gezielte Kombination von Cloud und On‑Premises basierend auf einer solchen Klassifikation.

Private Cloud/On‑Premises: Eigene Kontrolle über Hardware, Netz, Sicherheitszonen.

Hybrid Cloud: Verbindung von On‑Premises und Public Cloud mit einheitlichem Management.

Souveräne Cloud‑Lösungen: Angebote, die speziell auf nationale/regionale Anforderungen ausgelegt sind (GAIA‑X, Sovereign Cloud Stack, etc.).

Où se trouvent les données ? Qui a accès ? Quelles normes juridiques s'appliquent ?">Datenresidenz und Zugriffskontrollen: Wo liegen Daten? Wer hat Zugriff? Welche Rechtsnormen gelten?

Transparenz und Auditierbarkeit: Kontrollmechanismen, Nachvollziehbarkeit, Reporting.

Encryption ("Bring Your Own Encryption")
Network and data isolation
Zero‑Trust architectures
Operation in own data center or regional cloud

A critical point for on-premises or sovereign clouds is maintaining scaling and cost efficiency. BCG points out that infrastructure costs, skilled workforce development, and operational models present clear challenges. A hybrid approach combines control and scalability.

Inventory of existing systems
Assessment by risk & compliance
Architecture blueprint
Define technology and operational model
Implementation & pilot operation
Monitoring, governance & optimization

National Service Providers as "Extended IT Department"

Many organizations want to maintain sovereignty but relieve internal IT. National providers offer exactly that: data centers under German law, support in local language, and GDPR‑compliant service level agreements.

Cost Effects According to Studies

BARC 2024: 47 % der Unternehmen lagern IT‑Administration an nationale Provider aus.

IDC Europe 2024: Nationale Cloud‑Anbieter ermöglichen Compliance‑Erfüllung bei gleichzeitiger Reduktion des In‑House‑Personals.

Gartner 2025: Managed‑Service‑Partner senken Personalkosten um 25–40 % bei gleicher Servicequalität.

Typical Tasks That Can Be Outsourced

Category	Outsourcable	Examples
Hardware Maintenance & Lifecycle		Provider supplies hardware & power
Virtualization / Container Operation	partially	Managed Kubernetes, VM-Provisionierung
Monitoring & Incident Response		24/7 Security Operations Center – Center for security operations/Network Operations Center – Network operations center-Services
Backup & Disaster Recovery		Replication to second German data center
Identity & Access Management	shared	Provider betreibt Identity & Access Management – Identity and access management, Policy bleibt intern
Software Deployment & Updates	optional	depending on criticality
Governance & Security Audits	internal	remains company task

Economic Comparison

Cost Factor	Self-Operation	Managed On‑Prem / National Cloud
Capital Expenditure – Investment expenses for long-term assets	High	Low (Provider supplies)
Operational Expenditure – Operating expenses for ongoing business activities	Stable	Planbar über Service Level Agreement – Agreement on service quality and availability
IT Personnel Requirements	High	Reduced
Compliance Costs	Internal	Shared
Scalability	Limited	High

According to BARC and Gartner analyses, operating costs decrease by 30–50% compared to pure self-operation.

Strategic Advantage

souveraineté, efficacité des coûts et efficacité. La gouvernance et les politiques restent internes – les opérations de routine sont externalisées. Cela correspond parfaitement au principe Cloud Backshift : Pas moins de cloud, mais le bon cloud dans le bon contexte.">Diese Form des "kontrollierten Outsourcings" verbindet Souveränität, Wirtschaftlichkeit und Effizienz. Governance und Richtlinien bleiben intern – Routinebetrieb wird ausgelagert. Das passt perfekt zum Cloud‑Backshift‑Prinzip: Nicht weniger Cloud, sondern die richtige Cloud im richtigen Kontext.

Outlook: Why "Cloud Backshift" is Not a Step Backward

The term "Backshift" means not withdrawal, but conscious control. Companies are moving away from "cloud at any cost" towards a strategic mix that combines control and innovation. New EU regulations (EUCS, GAIA-X) and initiatives promote sovereign cloud architectures – the trend shows: Sovereignty is the new agility.

Costs & Manpower: On‑Premises vs. Cloud

On-premises binds staff to operations, patching, hardware lifecycle and physical infrastructure. In cloud environments, parts of this are eliminated, but new roles emerge for Cloud-Ops, Cost Governance, Security and Platform Engineering. Staffing needs rarely drop to zero – they shift.

Area	On‑Prem (Self-Operation)	Managed On‑Prem / National Cloud
Hardware & Infrastructure	Procurement, data center, power/cooling internal	Provider supplies & maintains infrastructure
Operations & Monitoring	Own admin teams, 24/7 availability	Shared Responsibility, Service Level Agreement – Agreement on service quality and availability‑gestützt
Compliance & Security	Audit, ISMS, hardening internal	Provider basis + internal governance
Personnel Costs	Higher, but stable plannable	Reduziert, durch Service Level Agreement – Agreement on service quality and availability kalkulierbar

Integrating National Partners

, des cadres juridiques clairs et un soulagement des tâches opérationnelles – sans renoncer à la souveraineté sur l'architecture et les politiques."de veri ikameti, net yasal çerçeveler ve operasyonel görevlerden rahatlama sağlar.">Nationale Managed‑Service‑Provider ermöglichen Datenresidenz in der EU, klare Rechtsrahmen und Entlastung operativer Aufgaben – ohne die Souveränität über Architektur und Richtlinien aufzugeben.

Our Approach

Discovery & Analyse: Workload‑Inventar, Datenklassifikation, Compliance‑Gap‑Analyse
Zielarchitektur: Hybrid‑Blueprint, Policies für Platzierung, Verschlüsselung & Zugriffe
Implementierung: Automatisierte Plattform (Kubernetes, GitOps, Observability)
Betriebsmodell: Rollen, Service Level Agreement – Agreement on service quality and availability, Kosten‑Controlling, Security‑Ops
Optimierung: Monitoring, Audits, FinOps, Kapazitäts‑ & DR‑Tests

Fazit: Cloud Backshift ist kein Rückschritt, sondern architektonische Reife: Souveränität, Compliance und Kosten im Gleichgewicht – mit der Agilität moderner Cloud‑Stacks.