Cloud Power vs. on-prem refresh: which is right?
The right answer depends on your refresh timing, team, and DR strategy. Here's how the decision usually breaks.
An on-prem Power10 refresh keeps everything in your control but means fresh capital outlay and another hardware lifecycle to own. Cloud Power (PowerVS, Skytap, partner-hosted) removes the hardware burden and shifts to consumption billing, but ongoing cost discipline becomes essential. If you're leaning cloud, understanding PowerVS vs. hosted Power is the next decision. The right answer depends on your refresh timing, team, and DR strategy.
When each path makes sense
Lean on-prem Power10 if…
- You're in a strict data-residency or air-gapped environment
- Latency to on-prem systems is critical
- You have the team to run Power well
- Capital budget is available and preferred over OpEx
Lean cloud Power if…
- You're consolidating or exiting data centers
- Hardware is at or near end of service now
- Power skills are thin and getting thinner
- You want DR and resilience without a second site
Many teams land on a hybrid: production on cloud Power, or production on-prem with cloud-Power DR. We model both against your numbers rather than defaulting to either.
Model both against your numbers
We'll run an on-prem refresh and cloud Power side by side on your actual costs, with no default answer.