What is On-Premise Infrastructure?
On-premise infrastructure refers to physical servers and network equipment hosted within an organization’s data center. It provides maximum control, security, and predictability of costs.
Pros
- Full control over hardware, networking, and security
- Predictable costs (no per-usage billing)
- Easy compliance with data privacy regulations
- Stable performance for critical workloads
Cons / Trade-offs
- High upfront capital expenditure (CAPEX)
- Slower to scale; requires hardware procurement
- Operational overhead: maintenance, upgrades, monitoring
- Disaster recovery planning is fully the organization's responsibility
Real-World Examples
- Banking or healthcare organizations hosting sensitive data
- Enterprise applications requiring predictable low latency
- Critical internal services (e.g., ERP, HR systems)
Best Practices
- Regular hardware lifecycle management
- Invest in monitoring and automation tools
- Implement backup, redundancy, and disaster recovery plans
- Consider hybrid cloud for burst workloads
“Predictable infrastructure reduces risk and gives teams confidence to innovate.”
— Viswa
— Viswa