The trend is less a rejection of public cloud than a sign of mounting pragmatism. Only five per cent said they would yank out everything, while 49 per cent are just pulling the plug on a few apps and workloads.

Node4 chief executive Richard Moseley said: “Mid-market organisations are entering a new phase of cloud strategy, one defined by pragmatism, not dogma.” He reckons the hybrid model is now the go-to for companies stuck between their aging on-prem gear and the allure of the public cloud.

Node4’s Unlocking Growth in the Mid-Market report claimed performance headaches are the top reason firms are binning the cloud for some workloads. These include so-called lift and shift jobs that never belonged in the cloud, modernised apps that turned out to be duds, and frustrated users snarling at SaaS latency.

“Organisations that migrated to the public cloud several years ago have realised that while their environments provide many benefits and offer more scalable on-demand performance than other hosting options, they aren't always the best fit for every application. This applies particularly to organisations that lifted and shifted to the public cloud without due planning and strategy, perhaps with legacy systems or databases that were never intended for cloud consumption,” Moseley said.

About 30 per cent of respondents blamed data sovereignty issues for their planned retreats, driven in part by anxiety around rules like DORA, GDPR and the US Cloud Act. But it goes beyond regulation as mid-market firms want control, jurisdiction and lasting access to their own data.

Other gripes included risk management at 29 per cent, technical limits at 27 per cent, cost and compliance at 26 per cent apiece, and security at 21 per cent.

The data throws up a peculiar twist. Companies relying on on-prem kit feel more secure than those flying fully in the cloud, despite public cloud vendors offering high-grade security and access tools. Reasons include a lack of control, convoluted setups, fuzzy visibility and patchy in-house skills.

“Public cloud still plays a vital role for the mid-market, but it’s no longer the default. Our data shows mid-market leaders are optimising for performance, compliance, and more direct control. Businesses that get this balance right will unlock greater efficiency, agility, and resilience from their infrastructure investments. This, in turn, will lay the foundations for improved growth and productivity,” Moseley said.