Cloud Repatriation Without Religion: A Workload Placement Engine for Cloud, VCF, Azure Local, Nutanix, and Bare Metal

This article presents a reusable workload-placement engine for IT infrastructure decisions, moving beyond cloud-first vs. repatriation debates. It introduces five rules: apply hard constraints before scoring, separate venue from runtime, compare equivalent service outcomes, publish weighted fit and confidence scores, and make decisions expire. The method covers Azure, VMware Cloud Foundation, Azure Local, Nutanix, Kubernetes, and bare metal, emphasizing workload boundaries over platform preferences. Includes community discussion references and practical guidance for enterprises, regulated organizations, and cost optimization.