Cloud vs Colocation Strategy - Enterprise Roundtable

Overview

As organisations move beyond first-generation cloud migrations, many enterprises are reassessing where different classes of workloads should live . While public cloud remains critical for agility, modern architectures increasingly combine public cloud, colocation, private infrastructure, and edge environments to balance cost, performance, control, and resilience.

For CIOs, CTOs, and infrastructure leaders, the conversation has shifted from “cloud first” to “workload fit” — determining which applications and data environments benefit most from hyperscale cloud, which should remain on dedicated infrastructure, and how to build operating models that span both.

This discussion will explore how enterprises are approaching hybrid infrastructure strategy , the economics of cloud repatriation vs colocation expansion, and how technology leaders are structuring long-term partnerships with data centre providers.

Key themes include:

How enterprises are deciding which workloads remain in public cloud vs move into colocation

Where organisations are seeing cost, performance, or control advantages outside public cloud

Planning long-term capacity, power allocation, and growth with data centre providers

Structuring commercial agreements, pricing models, and expansion rights with colocation partners

Managing interconnection with cloud providers, carriers, and ecosystem partners

Operational best practices for working effectively with data centre operators

How infrastructure, architecture, and procurement teams align on supplier strategy

Agenda

• 11:30 am Where Should Workloads Live Today?(Day 1 Roundtable) Discuss how organisations are currently deciding between public cloud, colocation, and hybrid environments , including workload placement criteria and trade-offs.
• 0:00 pm Cost, Performance & Control: Cloud vs Colo Realities(Day 1 Roundtable) Share experiences around cost optimisation, performance predictability, and operational control when moving workloads between cloud and colocation.
• 0:25 pm Planning Capacity, Power & Future Growth(Day 1 Roundtable) How infrastructure teams are planning long-term capacity, rack space, power allocation, and geographic expansion with data centre providers.
• 0:50 pm Preparing Infrastructure for AI & High-Density Workloads(Day 1 Roundtable) How enterprises are thinking about GPU workloads, power density, cooling, and interconnection when planning infrastructure strategy.
• 1:15 pm Negotiating with Data Centre & Infrastructure Providers(Day 1 Roundtable) Practical approaches to commercial agreements, pricing models, flexibility clauses, and expansion rights with colocation and infrastructure partners.
• 1:30 pm Aligning Infrastructure, Architecture & Procurement(Day 1 Roundtable) How teams coordinate technology architecture decisions with procurement strategy and supplier management .
• 11:30 am Where Should Workloads Live Today?(Day 2 Roundtable) Discuss how organisations are currently deciding between public cloud, colocation, and hybrid environments , including workload placement criteria and trade-offs.
• 0:00 pm Cost, Performance & Control: Cloud vs Colo Realities(Day 2 Roundtable) Share experiences around cost optimisation, performance predictability, and operational control when moving workloads between cloud and colocation.
• 0:25 pm Planning Capacity, Power & Future Growth(Day 2 Roundtable) How infrastructure teams are planning long-term capacity, rack space, power allocation, and geographic expansion with data centre providers.
• 0:50 pm Preparing Infrastructure for AI & High-Density Workloads(Day 2 Roundtable) How enterprises are thinking about GPU workloads, power density, cooling, and interconnection when planning infrastructure strategy.
• 1:15 pm Negotiating with Data Centre & Infrastructure Providers(Day 2 Roundtable) Practical approaches to commercial agreements, pricing models, flexibility clauses, and expansion rights with colocation and infrastructure partners.
• 1:30 pm Aligning Infrastructure, Architecture & Procurement(Day 2 Roundtable) How teams coordinate technology architecture decisions with procurement strategy and supplier management .

Partners

• Macquarie Data Centres We’re your experts in seriously secure, sovereign and compliant data centres. Our AI and cloud data centres are trusted by the world’s biggest hyperscalers, Global Fortune 500 companies and 42% of the Australian Federal Government. All our campuses are Certified Strategic by the Australian Federal Government and supported by 270+ Government-cleared engineers. We're designed to meet your needs today, and into the future. As Australia's most experienced data centre provider, we have been successfully building and operating data centres for over 25 years and hold the nation's longest running track record for Uptime and Operational Excellence. We can tailor a design for your needs today and accommodate your growth for tomorrow. Owned by the ASX200 Macquarie Technology Group.

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