Having made the leap from on-premises to public cloud, what could possibly go awry? A company all-in on cloud can say they’re modernized, out of the data center business, focused on differentiation, yada, yada, yada. And then the bill arrives. Is it really worth it to have every last wisp of a workload in cloud?

There’s a new phenomenon in information technology: On-prem repatriation. It happens when companies sweep up all their software applications, dump them into cloud, then wince at the cost realities. They wind up having to put some apps back on-prem. It’s a hot, breathy hassle they could have avoided if they’d gotten to know their own stuff first, according to Jeff Kroth (pictured), manager of data management and analytics at Softchoice Corp.

“A lot of customers think the cloud is a logical strategy for them, but over time they see that it increases cost,” Kroth said. “It’s really about aligning the rightsizing of your environment, moving the right applications, the right data to the cloud and using that as part of your overall strategy.”

Kroth spoke with Dave Vellante (@dvellante), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Veritas Vision Solution Day event in Chicago. They discussed intelligent data assessment and migration. (* Disclosure below.)

House hunting aid for data

The vast majority of companies are embracing hybrid information technology that includes both cloud and on-prem infrastructure. To prevent putting round pegs in square holes and vice versa, they need to understand their data, according to Kroth.

No doubt, some workloads have unique features that make them perfect for public cloud. To find out which ones before embarking on a costly, time-consuming slog, companies should inspect their workloads and data, Kroth explained.

Softchoice offers a couple of assessments to help customers understand their workloads. It partners with data backup and protection providers like Veritas Technologies LLC. Veritas’ 360 Data Management lets them get a good square look at their data and figure out how it will act in the cloud in terms of cost, etc.

This matching exercise will become increasingly important as companies spread out across environments, according to Kroth.

“I think I saw a stat — 92 percent of customers are taking a hybrid approach,” he said. “Leveraging a full data-management policy to be able to handle on-prem … private cloud, public cloud, and … having that tool set to give you visualizations across an entire hybrid IT infrastructure I think is important.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Veritas Vision Solution Day event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Veritas Vision Solution Day. Neither Veritas Technologies LLC, the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE