For a decade, the public cloud was the default choice for every startup and enterprise. The promise was simple: infinite scalability and zero operational overhead.
But as the industry matures, many organizations are discovering that the “convenience” of the cloud has become a tax on success. When your workloads are stable and your scale is high, renting computers from a hyper-scaler is often the least efficient way to run a business.
The Breaking Point: When Cloud Convenience Fails
The decision to migrate to bare metal—often called “cloud repatriation”—usually happens when one of three thresholds is crossed:
1. The 80% Cost Gap
Our analysis across dozens of migrations shows that companies pay an average 80% premium for cloud compute compared to equivalent bare-metal hardware. For a steady-state workload, you are essentially paying for a “scale-up” capability you never use.
2. The Data Egress Prison
Moving data into the cloud is free; moving it out is a ransom. AWS and Azure’s egress fees make it economically impossible for data-intensive companies to leverage multi-cloud or hybrid strategies without a massive “exit fee.”
3. The Performance Ceiling
Virtualization adds latency. “Noisy neighbors” on multi-tenant hardware create jitter. For performance-critical applications—from real-time bidding to high-frequency SaaS—the raw, predictable power of a dedicated CPU is a competitive advantage.
When Bare Metal is the Right Choice
Repatriation isn’t about moving everything. It’s about Strategic Placement. Bare metal is the optimal choice for:
- Steady-State Workloads: If your CPU usage is flat 90% of the time, the cloud premium is pure waste.
- High-Throughput Databases: NVMe storage on bare metal often delivers 10x the I/O performance of cloud-managed disks at a fraction of the cost.
- Compliance-Heavy Apps: Complete control over the physical stack simplifies audits and improves security posture.
The Payoff: What to Expect
Companies that execute a successful cloud-to-metal migration typically realize:
- 60-80% Reduction in total infrastructure spend.
- 2-3x Performance Improvement for compute and I/O-heavy tasks.
- Predictable Economics: Flat monthly costs that don’t fluctuate with API calls or data transfer spikes.
Executive Conclusion
The cloud was a revolution in deployment speed, but it is not the final destination for every workload. For mature businesses with predictable needs, Infrastructure Sovereignty—owning your stack—is the final stage of technical maturity.
Is it time to reclaim your margins? Request a Free Infrastructure Assessment to identify which parts of your stack belong on bare metal.