On-premises is the software and technology that is located within the physical confines of an enterprise often in the company’s data center as opposed to running remotely on hosted servers or in the cloud.
By installing and running software on hardware located within the premises of the company, internet technology (IT) staff has physical access to the data and can directly control the configuration, management and security of the computing infrastructure and data.
On-Premises vs. SaaS and Cloud Solutions
Also referred to as “on-prem” or on-premise, on-premises software is the more traditional method for working with enterprise software, and typically requires a software license for each server and/or end user that will be working with the software.
On the other end of the spectrum are hosted services for managing data and public cloud solutions, where third parties are responsible for managing and securing the infrastructure that houses the data stored on their servers.
These software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud computing alternatives to on-premises software are frequently considered for their potential cost savings that result from reduced expenses related to staffing, power consumption, maintenance and security.
Hybrid Solutions
A third option that has become more popular in recent years are hybrid solutions like Microsoft s Azure Stack that enable enterprises to run some workloads and applications on-premises while utilizing the cloud for other workloads.
