Every custom software conversation eventually reaches the deployment question: where does this run? Most vendors answer with whatever suits their business model. Cloud-only vendors insist on-premise is obsolete; body-shop integrators push on-premise because servers mean billable maintenance.
We offer both, priced differently, and we’ll recommend one honestly. This guide is the decision framework we use.
Option one: managed cloud (our recommendation for most)
Your system runs on infrastructure we operate, secure and monitor.
What it means for you:
- Lowest build cost — the one-time development fee is minimal, and on managed-cloud plans sometimes waived entirely.
- Fastest launch — no procurement, no server room, no IT hiring. Weeks to live.
- One number — the per-active-user licence covers hosting, servers, security patching, backups, updates and SLA support. There is no second invoice.
- Someone else’s 3 AM problem — disks fail, certificates expire, patches drop on weekends. That’s our pager, not yours.
Who it fits: businesses without a dedicated IT infrastructure team — which is most SMEs — and anyone who wants cost to scale smoothly with usage.
Option two: on-premise / your own cloud
Your system runs on your servers, or in your own AWS/Azure/GCP account. You own the deployment outright.
What it means for you:
- Full ownership and control — the system lives inside your network or your cloud account, under your policies.
- Data residency by construction — for organisations whose compliance regime, client contracts or board mandate require data on owned infrastructure.
- You bear the development cost — since we can’t amortise the build through a managed service, the one-time fee reflects the full development effort. Stated upfront, as always.
- You run the infrastructure — your team (or your IT partner) handles servers, backups, and uptime. Support for the application still comes from us under SLA.
Who it fits: organisations with real IT capability and a concrete reason — regulatory, contractual, or strategic — to own the metal.
The questions that actually decide it
- Do you have (or want to hire) infrastructure skills? If no — cloud. This single question settles most cases.
- Does a regulation or client contract name where data must live? Read the actual clause; “we prefer” and “we must” are different answers. Genuine mandate — on-premise or your own cloud account.
- How does your usage grow? Cloud absorbs growth invisibly. Owned servers meet growth with procurement cycles.
The false fear: lock-in
The usual argument against managed cloud is lock-in fear. Our answer is structural: your data is always yours and exportable, and the on-premise option permanently exists — you can start on managed cloud, prove the system, and later move to your own infrastructure by covering the deployment effort. Starting cheap doesn’t trap you.
Our honest default
For most growing Indian businesses: start on managed cloud. Minimal or no build fee, live in about a month, one predictable per-user cost. Revisit on-premise if and when a concrete requirement shows up — you’ll be deciding with a working system and real usage data, not projections.
Not sure which side you fall on? Describe your setup in one paragraph and we’ll give you a one-paragraph answer: [email protected] · +91 95000 93600.
