Before the advent of cloud computing, the IT industry primarily relied on traditional on-premises IT infrastructure, which required businesses to purchase and maintain their hardware and software. This approach had several limitations, including high upfront costs, a need for specialized IT staff, and difficulties in scaling up or down to meet changing demands.

Companies had to invest a significant amount of money in acquiring and maintaining their hardware and software, including servers, storage devices, and networking equipment. They also had to allocate resources to manage the IT infrastructure, such as maintaining hardware, installing software updates, and managing security.

Moreover, companies were limited by the capacity of their IT infrastructure, making it difficult to quickly adapt to changing business needs. For example, if a company experienced a sudden surge in demand for its services or products, it might have struggled to scale up its IT infrastructure quickly enough to handle the increased traffic.

Overall, the IT industry before the advent of cloud computing was characterized by high costs, limited scalability, and a need for specialized IT expertise. Cloud computing has transformed this landscape by providing a flexible, cost-effective, and scalable alternative to traditional on-premises IT infrastructure.