What is On-premises

What is On-Premises?

On-premises refers to IT infrastructure systems and software located on-site. Unlike cloud computing, where services are hosted by remote data centers or public cloud platforms, the organization owns and manages this infrastructure within facilities like office buildings or data centers, where they have more control of their IT assets.

On-Premise vs. On-Premises: Which Term is Correct?

The correct term is "on-premises." It is used as an adjective to describe something that is located within an organization's physical premises or facilities, such as an on-premises data center, etc. The term "on-premise" is incorrect in this context. The word “premise” means “the basis for an argument or conclusion” and has nothing to do with the site on which an organization locates its IT systems.

prem·ise /ˈpreməs/ noun a previous statement or proposition from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion. "if the premise is true, then the conclusion must be true"
prem·is·es /ˈpreməsəz/ noun a house or building, together with its land and outbuildings, occupied by a business or considered in an official context. "business premises"

What Does On-Prem Mean? Is It the Same as On-Premises?

Yes, on-prem is a widely used and acceptable abbreviation of “on-premises” and most people find it easier to say.

Why do some organizations prefer On-premises to Cloud?

There are several reasons why organizations might choose on-premises solutions over cloud solutions, depending on their specific needs, requirements, and circumstances. Here are some common reasons:

Data Security and Control: Some organizations have strict security and compliance requirements that necessitate full control over their data and infrastructure. By keeping data on-premises, they can implement their own security measures and maintain direct control over access.
Regulatory Compliance: Certain industries and regions have stringent regulatory requirements that might restrict the use of cloud services or require data to remain within specific geographic boundaries.
Customization and Flexibility: On-premises solutions offer more customization and flexibility in terms of hardware, software, and configurations. Organizations can tailor their infrastructure to meet their exact needs without being limited by the offerings of a cloud provider.
Performance and Latency: Some applications require low-latency access to data and resources, which can be more challenging to achieve in a cloud environment due to potential network delays.
Legacy Systems: Organizations with existing legacy systems and applications might find it more complex and costly to migrate them to the cloud. In such cases, maintaining on-premises solutions could be a more practical option.
Cost Predictability: While cloud services can provide cost scalability, some organizations prefer the predictability of capital expenditures associated with on-premises solutions. They can budget for upfront hardware and infrastructure costs rather than ongoing operational expenses.
Specialized Hardware: Certain industries, such as research, scientific computing, and high-performance computing, require specialized hardware that might be more efficiently utilized within their own data centers.
Dependency Concerns: Relying on cloud services means depending on the availability and performance of the cloud provider's infrastructure. Some organizations prefer to minimize this dependency by maintaining their own resources.
Data Sovereignty: Organizations in some countries or industries have legal or contractual obligations to keep their data within specific geographic boundaries, which might not align with the global nature of cloud services.
Long-Term Cost Analysis: In some scenarios, especially when considering long-term costs, it might be more cost-effective for organizations with stable workloads to invest in on-premises infrastructure.

What is Hybrid Cloud?

Hybrid cloud is usually used to refer to the scenario where an organization uses a combination of on-premises and cloud infrastructure to host their IT systems. For example, it is very common to see organizations using cloud services but relying on an on-prem Active Directory server for access.

Please see: What is Supercloud? What to consider when monitoring and observing a Supercloud? For an overview on hybrid cloud in the context of multi-cloud.

Is eG Enterprise an On-Premises or cloud hosted monitoring solution?

eG Enterprise can be self-hosted either on-prem or in cloud resource of the customer’s choosing. Additionally, eG Enterprise is offered as a fully managed cloud service in several cloud regions to suit the data localization needs of customers.

By choosing a monitoring solution that can be migrated between an on-prem and a cloud hosted solution, our customers can future-proof themselves for unforeseen changes in their data control needs and cloud pricing nuances. We have seen some Managed Service Providers (MSPs) migrate from cloud hosted eG Enterprise as their customer base has grown larger as they are now able to justify on-prem resources and amortize costs with their own datacenters.

Read more about deployment options and considerations in Deploying IT Monitoring - SaaS or On-Premises.

On-Premises vs. Cloud: Which Deployment Model Is Best?

Of course, this will always depend on the individual organization and the nuances of their requirements. We have a collection of articles containing data on cloud adoption trends, cloud repatriation, data localization considerations and so on, with lots of links to other reosurces that may help you evaluate whether on-prem or cloud suits you organization best, please see:

Can You Transfer Monitoring Licenses from On-Premises to the Cloud?

eG Enterprise is unusual in that our licenses are transferable between the 400+ technology stacks we monitor. This means that if a customer migrates from an on-prem database technology such as Oracle DB to a cloud hosted database such as Azure Cosmos DB they can transfer their licenses alongside their databases and avoid shelfware. Similarly, if a customer starts to migrate users off on-prem Citrix to cloud hosted Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), the per user monitoring licenses can be transferred as the users move. This also allows the legacy and new technologies to be baselined and compared to measure success.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

On-premises computing relies on infrastructure that an organization owns, manages, and maintains within its own facilities. Cloud computing delivers IT resources over the internet through a service provider. While on-premises environments offer greater control and customization, cloud platforms provide scalability, flexibility, and reduced infrastructure management responsibilities.

Yes, on-prem is simply a shortened version of on-premises. Both terms describe applications, servers, storage, and other IT resources that are hosted and managed within an organization's own data center or facilities rather than being delivered through a public cloud service provider.

Organizations choose on-premises infrastructure when they require greater control over data, security, compliance, performance, or application configurations. It is often preferred for workloads with strict regulatory requirements, specialized hardware dependencies, or sensitive data. Many businesses also use on-premises environments as part of broader hybrid IT strategies.

Increasingly, cloud computing costs and the financials of the use of cloud computing at scale are causing some organizations to strategically move some workloads from public clouds like AWS and Microsoft Azure to on-prem infrastructure, a strategy often labelled as “repatriation”. To learn more about cloud vs. on-premises strategies, see: On-premises, Cloud First or Cloud Repatriation - What's the Trend? Which is Best?. Similarly, many organisations are also adopting “Cloud Exit” strategies, whereby they plan for a potential requirement to move workloads from cloud infrastructure to on-premises infrastructure, learn more: The Importance of a Cloud Exit Strategy: What It Is, Who Needs It, and How to Plan It.

On-premises infrastructure offers benefits such as complete control over hardware and software, enhanced data governance, customizable configurations, predictable performance, and support for regulatory compliance requirements. Organizations can tailor environments to specific business needs and maintain direct oversight of security, operations, and infrastructure management.

For many organizations on-premises solutions suit specific data sovereignty, residency and localization requirements, learn more: Data Sovereignty vs Data Residency vs Data Localization.

The main disadvantages of on-premises infrastructure include higher upfront capital costs, ongoing maintenance requirements, limited scalability, and increased responsibility for security, upgrades, and disaster recovery. Managing complex environments can also demand significant IT resources. eG Enterprise helps simplify operations by providing unified monitoring and performance visibility.

Hybrid cloud infrastructure combines on-premises resources with public and private cloud services, sometimes enabling workloads and data to move between environments as needed. This approach provides flexibility, scalability, and business continuity while allowing organizations to retain critical applications on-premises. eG Enterprise delivers end-to-end observability across hybrid cloud environments from a single platform.