Cloud or server on your premises: which fits which organisation?
The cloud suits organisations that want to start quickly, do not want to run their own hardware and have up to a few hundred people. A server on your premises suits larger organisations, those with a data centre and their own IT, and anyone who must work without an internet connection or has requirements on where data is kept. With basebox, features and security are the same on both; size, requirements and operation decide.
How do cloud and a server on your premises differ?
In the cloud, the AI platform runs in a data centre of the provider. The organisation signs in and works; the provider takes care of operation, updates and backup. Payment is usually per person per year.
With a server on your premises (on-premises), the hardware stands in the organisation’s data centre or in a data centre of its choice. The data stays on this hardware, without an internet connection if you wish. The server is operated by your own IT or by a service provider on your behalf.
What it costs and from what size the server pays off is covered in the guide From how many people does an AI server pay off compared with the cloud?. This guide is about which option fits which organisation.
Which organisation fits which option?
| Your situation | Usually a good fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small facility, practice, municipality, home care service | Cloud | Start with no hardware and no operation of your own |
| No IT department of your own, or only a service provider | Cloud | Operation, updates and backup lie with the provider |
| Medium-sized organisation with a few hundred people | Either | Price, requirements and existing infrastructure decide |
| Large organisation, group, university hospital | Server | Costs per person fall, computing power only for your organisation |
| Operation without internet, critical infrastructure, security authority | Server | Only this way can it run with no connection to the outside at all |
| Existing servers with GPUs | Server on your own hardware | Keep using an existing investment |
The table is a guide. Many organisations start in the cloud, gain experience and decide later.
Which questions should you clarify first?
- Which data? If patient, social or citizen data is to go in, special rules apply. For health data in the cloud, § 393 SGB V (German Social Code, Book V) requires in Germany a C5 attestation or an equivalent proof under § 1 C5GleichwV.
- Who operates it? Does your IT have the time and knowledge for another server with GPUs, for updates and incidents? If not: cloud, or operation by the provider.
- How many people? In the cloud you pay per person, with the server per server. As numbers grow, the calculation shifts towards the server.
- Is there internet? Networks with no connection to the outside rule out the cloud. Running AI offline →
- How fast? The cloud is ready immediately; a server needs delivery and installation.
- Which requirements? A security concept, a tender or the organisation’s governing body can prescribe a location, such as your own data centre.
With either option you need a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR as soon as the provider processes data on your behalf or can access the server.
Is there something between cloud and server?
Yes. In hybrid operation, the platform runs in your own network and the AI model computes at another location. This is worthwhile, for example, when an organisation already has computing power in another data centre. Hybrid operation: when it makes sense →
A server can also stand in the provider’s data centre: it still belongs to one organisation only.
How does it work with basebox?
basebox is available in three ways, with the same features, apps, connectors and the same security:
| Cloud | Server from basebox | Hardware of your choice | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usually suits | from 5 people, list prices up to 20,000 people | from about 200 people | organisations with existing servers with GPUs |
| Start | registration in 2 minutes | delivered three weeks after the order is received, installed in one day | set up in one day once the hardware is in place |
| Operation | by basebox | by your IT or, if you wish, by basebox | by your IT or, if you wish, by basebox |
| Where the data is kept | separate environment for your organisation, data centre Munich-East | on the server, at your site (without internet if you wish) or in the data centre | on your hardware |
For the cloud, basebox provides the proof under § 393 (4) SGB V via ISO 27001 with an action plan under § 1 C5GleichwV; the C5 attestation will follow, first Type 1, then Type 2. For the server, C5 is not needed. On no option does your data train a model.
You can switch between cloud and server at any time, for a flat fee of €4,200. The servers are built and delivered by our hardware partner FAST LTA, including to Switzerland. In France, basebox only offers the server operated by the customer’s own IT until HDS certification is in place.
Frequently asked questions
Is on-premises always more secure than the cloud?
Not in itself. An option is secure when operation, updates, permissions and logs are right. On your premises your IT is responsible for this; in the cloud it is the provider, with its proofs. The server on your premises has a clear advantage when data must not leave the organisation at all or there is no internet connection.
Can we start in the cloud and switch later?
Yes. With basebox you can switch between cloud and server at any time, for a flat fee of €4,200. Apps, permissions and connections stay the same.
Is basebox available in Austria, Switzerland and France?
In Germany, Austria and Switzerland there is the cloud and the server. In France there is the server operated by the customer's own IT, as long as basebox does not hold HDS certification.
Sources
This article was created with the help of AI, based on the sources listed. Responsible for the content: basebox GmbH. Not legal advice, no liability. Research as of 11 October 2026.