This is a question of conditions, not superiority. Data that must not leave the company, or production that must continue through a network outage, points on-premise. No operations staff, or several sites to consolidate, points to cloud.
This is a question of conditions, not superiority. Data that must not leave the company, or production that must continue through a network outage, points on-premise. No operations staff, or several sites to consolidate, points to cloud.
The same criteria applied to both.
| Criterion | On-Premise | Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Where data sits | Internal servers — it does not leave | External data centre |
| During a network outage | Floor systems keep running | Unusable while the connection is down |
| Initial cost | Up-front investment in servers and licences | Little up front, often usage-based |
| Operations burden | You manage servers, backups and patching | Largely handled by the provider |
| Multiple sites | Needs per-site design and linking | Comparatively easy to consolidate |
| Scaling | Adding capacity takes time | Comparatively quick to expand |
The answer changes with conditions.
The arrangement growing in manufacturing is execution on site, analytics in the cloud. Functions that must not stop — work orders, results — stay on the floor, while cross-site analysis and reporting sit in the cloud.
This requires being able to choose what is exported: aggregates or de-identified data rather than the full raw set.
The on-premise glossary entry sets out the criteria in more detail.
Questions that come up during comparison.
No. A remote access path aligned with your security policy is provided, typically logged and opened only when needed.
On technical measures alone, cloud is often stronger. The real question is whether contracts and regulation permit external storage.
Yes, if portability is considered at design time. Data structures and integrations must not bind tightly to one environment.
Yes. U-Bot can be configured so internal documents never leave the company.
Your current systems and site conditions narrow the options quickly.
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