When the vendor cloud is right
- You want to be live today with nothing to install or maintain.
- Your data can leave your network — or, better, the tool queries it in place and nothing leaves anyway.
- You have no one to look after servers, upgrades and backups.
Check: where the service runs, whether the product phones home with usage data, and whether your data is copied to the vendor or queried where it lives.
When self-hosting is right
- Policy or regulation says data — including query results — stays inside your boundary.
- You run networks with no internet access (plants, hospitals, secure sites).
- You want the platform in your own cloud account, under your own keys and audit.
Check: whether the self-hosted product is the full product (or a stripped version), whether it works fully offline, and who supports it when something breaks.
The cost question
Self-hosting trades subscription convenience for infrastructure you already own. It is rarely cheaper in effort unless you already run servers well; it is often the only option that satisfies compliance. Get a quote for both, including support, before deciding on cost alone.
How Klayara handles it. The same product runs in our cloud, in your cloud account, in your data centre or fully offline — AI included, with a private model. Self-hosting comes with our support for installation and upgrades. About self-hosting.