Cloud Field Day 24 Delegate Roundtable Discussion

This final session of Cloud Field Day 24 features a roundtable discussion with the delegates to explore their impressions of the event and delve into topics not thoroughly covered during the presentations. The delegates, who practically work with these products in complex environments, aim to discuss pertinent issues and the right solutions for their customers, particularly regarding the evolution of hybrid or private cloud and how it differs from public cloud.

The discussion centered on the shift towards on-premises cloud solutions, highlighted by companies like Oxide and Morpheus, that mimic cloud functionality without replicating the public cloud model. A key theme was the concept of multi-cloud, which enables workload placement and movement based on specific needs, alongside essential observability and management capabilities. Data management, particularly data sovereignty, was identified as a major driver for on-premise solutions, due to the physics involved in data transfer and the vendors’ belief that current cloud services often fail to meet enterprise data sovereignty requirements.

Further topics included the financial implications of diverse platforms, the rising costs of cloud-based AI agents, and the need for simplification in IT operations amid increasing complexity and staffing challenges. The discussion also addressed the security vulnerabilities in AI and the importance of incorporating security into AI infrastructures from the outset, rather than as an afterthought. Finally, the panel discussed the distinct approaches to cloud solutions, contrasting single-source providers like Oxide with vendors that enable best-of-breed integrations, acknowledging the challenges of integrating new solutions into complex, legacy environments.