INFOGRAPHIC

Mapping the True Home of Corporate Data

Executive leaders must see beyond the myth of “all‑cloud” or “on‑prem” to understand the full spectrum of data locations—on‑prem data centers, private clouds, public clouds, SaaS platforms, edge devices, and archival stores. This infographic layers those habitats with governance, compliance, and resilience considerations, enabling strategic decisions on risk, cost, and performance.

Template: LAYERED_MODELPublished: 9/14/2026
THE ARCHON

Mapping the True Home of Corporate Data

A layered view of where data resides, why it matters, and how to govern it

Executive leaders must see beyond the myth of “all‑cloud” or “on‑prem” to understand the full spectrum of data locations—on‑prem data centers, private clouds, public clouds, SaaS platforms, edge devices, and archival stores. This infographic layers those habitats with governance, compliance, and resilience considerations, enabling strategic decisions on risk, cost, and performance.

Layer 1
Data Habitat Layers
Physical and logical environments where corporate data lives today.
  • On‑Premises Data Centers
  • Private Cloud (e.g., VMware, OpenStack)
  • Public Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP)
  • SaaS Applications (CRM, ERP, Collaboration)
  • Edge & IoT Devices
  • Backup & Archive Repositories
Layer 2
Governance & Residency
Controls that dictate *where* data may be stored based on regulatory, contractual, and strategic rules.
Layer 3
Access, Security & Identity
Mechanisms that protect data across all habitats—encryption, tokenization, IAM/PAM policies, and zero‑trust networking.
Layer 4
Resilience & Continuity
Backup, replication, and disaster‑recovery strategies that ensure availability regardless of the underlying location.
Layer 5
Cost & Performance Optimization
Guidelines for aligning data placement with workload characteristics, latency needs, and total cost of ownership.

Technology Radar Domains

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