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Dedicated Server → Cloud Repatriation
What is cloud repatriation and why is it so popular?
Cloud was supposed to be the final destination. Instead, IT teams are heading back—specifically to dedicated servers and bare metal infrastructure. It’s called cloud repatriation, and it’s not just a trend. It’s a correction.
Whether you’re dealing with runaway costs, compliance headaches, or performance bottlenecks, moving workloads out of the public cloud might be your smartest play. Let’s break down why repatriation is happening, what’s driving it, and why dedicated server hosting is at the center of it all.
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What is cloud repatriation?
Cloud repatriation is the process of migrating applications, workloads, and data out of public cloud environments—like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud—and back to single-tenant dedicated servers, on-premises infrastructure, or private clouds.
Think of it as reverse cloud migration. Instead of going all-in on the cloud, companies are rebalancing their infrastructure strategies by bringing high-cost or sensitive workloads back under their direct control. For many, that means ditching virtualized shared cloud platforms and moving to high-performance, bare metal servers hosted in colocation or leased data center environments.
Why cloud repatriation is gaining traction
After a decade of “cloud-first” mandates, many CIOs are asking a different question: Which workloads actually belong in the cloud? The answer is driving a strategic shift toward dedicated infrastructure.
Our own private research revealed that 42% of IT professionals have migrated workloads back from public cloud to dedicated environments in the past 12 months, underscoring a deliberate strategy to reclaim control over performance, customization, and predictable costs.
Cost optimization
Public cloud pricing can look reasonable, until your app scales. Between data egress fees, storage tiers, and per-request charges, it’s easy for cloud bills to spiral out of control. This is especially painful for steady-state workloads that run 24/7.
Dedicated servers, by contrast, offer predictable monthly pricing with no metered bandwidth or surprise fees. For stable, high-demand workloads, repatriating to single-tenant infrastructure often slashes TCO in half.
Example:
37signals (makers of Basecamp and HEY) publicly detailed their exit from AWS, claiming $1M+ in annual savings by switching to leased bare metal servers and simplified tooling.
Security and compliance
Storing sensitive data in a public cloud can raise serious concerns, especially in industries bound by HIPAA, GDPR, PCI, or other compliance standards. Even with shared responsibility models, cloud platforms aren’t always transparent about backend controls.
Dedicated hosting offers full isolation and visibility. No noisy neighbors. No shared virtual machines. No ambiguity.
Performance and latency
If your workload demands low latency, high IOPS, or GPU acceleration, the cloud often introduces too much overhead. Virtualization, multi-tenant congestion, and network jitter all impact performance, especially for real-time applications.
Bare metal infrastructure solves this by giving you direct access to physical resources. You’re not sharing bandwidth, CPU cycles, or disks with anyone else.
Vendor lock-in and flexibility
Building around proprietary cloud services can lock you into a specific vendor’s pricing, tooling, and APIs. That’s fine—until the vendor changes pricing, discontinues features, or throttles your usage.
Repatriating to dedicated servers gives you full control over your software stack. Want to switch orchestration tools? Update your CI/CD pipeline? Migrate to another hypervisor? You can, because you’re not boxed into someone else’s ecosystem.
Real-world examples of cloud repatriation
37signals
This Basecamp and HEY parent company moved off AWS and rebuilt its infrastructure using colocated, dedicated servers. Their stated reasons were simple: high cloud costs, better control, and reduced architectural complexity.
They cut cloud spend by 60% and now run a leaner stack with open-source tools and their own hardware.
GEICO
The insurance giant began scaling back its public cloud usage in favor of re-architecting workloads on its own infrastructure. The move supports both performance goals and long-term cost control.
Other industries following suit
- Finance and healthcare: Motivated by data control and compliance
- Gaming and media: Sensitive to latency and consistent throughput
- Manufacturing and IoT: Often repatriating edge workloads or telemetry pipelines
Key considerations before repatriating
Repatriation can absolutely pay off, but only if you plan it right.
Financial forecasting and resource planning
Yes, cloud repatriation saves money, but migration costs are real. You’ll need to factor in data transfer, setup time, and possibly re-architecting parts of your stack.
That said, short-term costs are often lower than trying to optimize bloated cloud deployments. Flat-rate bare metal pricing eliminates surprise billing and simplifies forecasting for finance teams.
Staffing and technical readiness
Running your own infrastructure doesn’t mean building a data center. Renting dedicated servers gives you full control without needing on-site power, cooling, or physical security.
Still, your team needs to be comfortable managing operating systems, automation tooling, and backups. If you’re coming from a fully managed cloud experience, that might mean investing in ops training or hiring.
If you’re unsure, start small—repatriate one or two workloads to dedicated servers, then scale once your team is comfortable.
Or work with a dedicated hosting provider that offers fully managed hosting services.
Tooling, automation, and hybrid setups
When you leave the cloud, you leave behind cloud-native services too: autoscaling, object storage, IAM, etc.
Luckily, there are open-source or SaaS equivalents for nearly everything. What’s more common than full repatriation is a hybrid model: keeping dynamic workloads in the cloud while bringing stable systems to dedicated infrastructure.
Cloud repatriation vs rehosting vs refactoring
These strategies often get lumped together, but they serve very different goals:
| Strategy | Direction | Summary | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud Repatriation | Cloud → Dedicated/on-prem | Moving workloads off public cloud platforms | Cost control, compliance, performance |
| Rehosting | On-prem → Cloud | “Lift and shift” into cloud as-is | Quick cloud adoption |
| Refactoring | On-prem → Cloud | Rebuilding apps to be cloud-native | Long-term cloud scalability |
By following these best practices, you can ensure your server backups are robust, secure, and reliable, providing peace of mind for your business operations.
Will cloud repatriation pick up pace in 2025–2026?
Yes
A 2024 HashiCorp and EE Times survey found that 83% of CIOs plan to repatriate at least some workloads by the end of 2024. That pace is expected to accelerate in 2025–2026, as more companies hit cost ceilings or compliance roadblocks.
In our study of IT professionals, 45% expect the role of dedicated servers to grow by 2030.
Cloud isn’t going away, but the future looks more hybrid, more cost-conscious, and a lot more grounded.
Cloud repatriation FAQ
Cloud repatriation is the process of moving workloads, applications, and data out of public cloud platforms and back onto dedicated servers, private clouds, or on-premises infrastructure.
Yes. Surveys show a majority of CIOs plan to pull workloads from the public cloud in favor of dedicated or hybrid infrastructure, citing cost, control, and compliance.
Rehosting—also called “lift and shift”—means moving on-prem applications into the cloud without rewriting them. It’s fast but doesn’t always deliver long-term benefits.
- Partial repatriation – Moving only selected workloads out of the cloud
- Full repatriation – Exiting the public cloud entirely and managing all infrastructure in-house or via dedicated servers
Next steps for cloud repatriation
Cloud repatriation is no longer niche, it’s smart infrastructure strategy. With cost savings, tighter security, and better performance, dedicated server hosting is an obvious destination.
If you’re ready to bring workloads home, start with high-cost, high-stability systems and evaluate managed bare metal options for flexibility without physical infrastructure headaches.
When you’re ready for that dedicated server, Liquid Web can help. Our dedicated server hosting options have been leading the industry for decades, because they’re fast, secure, and completely reliable. Choose your favorite OS and the management tier that works best for you.
Click below to explore dedicated server options or start a chat with one of our experts to learn more.
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