Cloud or self-hosted: the question to settle before you sign

Reading this first? The small-team support desk: a complete guide puts every decision in order.

For most SaaS purchases the hosting model is an implementation detail. For a support desk it is not: the tool holds customer conversations, contact records and invoices. Where that data lives is a decision, not a footnote.

Three questions that settle it

  1. Who can read the data? A self-hosted deployment keeps conversations and customer records inside infrastructure you control.
  2. What happens when the vendor changes terms? Self-hosting makes the exit a migration, not a negotiation.
  3. What does your own customer promise say? If you have told clients their data stays in a specific region or system, the support tool has to fit that promise.

Cloud is usually the right answer for a team without infrastructure. Self-hosted is the right answer when the data question is the deciding factor — and it should be a supported option, not a special project.

Onsites AI offers both, with the same product behind them.

The cloud vs self-hosted checklist · self-hosted deployment

Free for the first 3 seats, either way. onsitesai.com

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