What is On-premises

Is it On-premise or On-premises?

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"

Is On-prem 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 or Cloud – which 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:

• How MSPs can Capitalize on the Rush to Localize IT Services
• On-premises, Cloud First or Cloud Repatriation - What's the Trend? Which is Best? | eG Innovations

Transferring monitoring tool licenses from On-prem 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.