Fundamentals of DevOps and Software Delivery » FAQ
When should you use on-prem vs the cloud?
Use cloud when you need fast provisioning, elasticity, and managed services; use on-prem when regulatory, latency, or hardware constraints demand full physical control. Most teams benefit from cloud first, then selectively adopting on-prem where justified.
Practical guidance
- Include staffing and operational burden in total-cost analysis.
- Evaluate compliance, data residency, and vendor risk upfront.
- Standardize deployment patterns so architecture choices remain reversible.
- Avoid premature hybrid complexity unless business constraints require it.