“This reversal challenges the assumption that cloud is always the end goal, and highlights growing concerns about cost predictability, control, and performance in shared cloud environments,” MacDonald told Network World.
The survey found 86% of IT professionals report that their organizations currently use dedicated servers, with government (93%), information technology (91%), and finance (90%) being the most likely industries to do so. Fifty-three percent of IT professionals still view dedicated servers as essential, and nearly half (45%) expect their role to grow by 2030.
The majority of respondents use dedicated servers for databases, with file storage and web hosting also in the mix.
Another finding as relates to customization is that 32% of IT professionals believe their current cloud spend is wasted on features or capacity they don’t fully use. Cloud service providers are notorious for providing features whether you want them or not and not giving customers the choice to opt out and cut bills.
On premises computing is not just holding steady but growing. More than one-third of respondents (34%) said their organizations increased spending on dedicated servers in 2024, compared to 24% in 2023 and 26% in 2022.
IT managers are finding their biggest challenge is explaining the value of dedicated infrastructure to management. Nearly one-third (31%) said they don’t feel confident explaining infrastructure choices to nontechnical leadership and 70% of IT professionals surveyed believe that executive leadership underestimates the role dedicated servers play in a modern tech stack.