The Case for a Return to On-Premise Government IT Systems

For more than a decade, government agencies have been urged to move their data and infrastructure to the cloud, sold on promises of scalability, agility and simplified operations. And while the cloud works well for smaller data sets and for distributing data across multiple geographic locations, it begins to introduce serious challenges as data volumes grow and high-speed access becomes critical. Increasingly, public-sector CIOs and IT leaders are realizing that the cloud is no panacea.

A growing number of government bodies — state, local and federal — are now recalibrating their strategies. Their new focus? On-premise data infrastructure. Not because they’re retreating from modernization, but because they’re recognizing that on-prem solutions deliver long-term control, lower latency, predictable costs and unmatched security.

The motivations are clear — and increasingly difficult to ignore.

CLOUD IS CONVENIENT, BUT IT'S NOT CHEAP

It’s deceptively easy to get started in the cloud. That’s by design. But as public-sector IT managers quickly learn, long-term cloud costs can balloon.

Agencies pay not only for storage, but also for bandwidth, data access and growing egress (download) fees. These expenses scale unpredictably and often push budgets beyond approved limits — especially for data-intensive services like law enforcement video, GIS data or digital public records.

In fact, when properly designed, an on-premise storage solution can cost one-tenth as much as cloud over a multiyear life cycle. That’s money that can be reinvested in public services, digital tools and local infrastructure.

ON-PREM = OWNERSHIP + CONTROL

For government IT, control isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. Agencies must meet strict data governance standards, ensure uptime for essential services, and protect citizen information from breaches and misuse.

With on-premise storage, agencies maintain full sovereignty over their data. There's no third-party gatekeeper, no unexpected policy changes and no reliance on external Internet bandwidth to access mission-critical files. This is especially vital in rural or remote regions where connectivity is limited.

Many governments are deploying private cloud environments powered by open source software, giving them the same scalability and flexibility of cloud without the high costs, vendor lock-in or risk of external data exposure. These solutions offer fast local access, improve workflow efficiency, and function independently of an Internet connection.

Open source is becoming increasingly alluring for public agencies, not just for cost savings, but for transparency and security. Open source storage platforms let agencies inspect, verify and modify their infrastructure to meet unique compliance and operational needs. Solutions built around this model — open, auditable and highly customizable — enable organizations to avoid hidden fees, opaque systems and proprietary dependencies. And with comprehensive solutions, even lean IT teams can confidently operate enterprise-grade storage clusters in-house.

Cloud still has a place in government IT. It’s ideal for lightweight, noncritical workloads, like running temporary services or testing new tools. But for applications that are always on, mission-critical and data-heavy, on-prem must be the foundation.

This is not about going backward. It’s about building forward, strategically, securely and sustainably.

The next era of government IT will be hybrid by design — but on-premise by default.

As a longtime entrepreneur and innovator, Doug Milburn, president and co-founder of 45Drives, thrives on solving problems. For more than 35 years, he's brought passion and vision to manufacturing, engineering, software development and process engineering. Throughout his leadership, Milburn has aimed to create great workplaces by shaping a company's success through corporate values and ethical guidelines.