Stackfield is available both as a cloud version and for operation on your own server.
What does on-premise mean?
On-premise means something like "in-house". With an on-premise variant, a company or organisation hosts software on its own infrastructure.
Due to compliance requirements or legal regulations, certain companies/organisations must insist on keeping data in-house and are not allowed to outsource it to the cloud.
Why is a profound evaluation necessary as to whether Stackfield should be used in the cloud or on-premise?
In most cases, the internal requirements mentioned above play the most important role in the decision in favour of/against the cloud. However, there are also other points to consider here, as switching from the on-premise to the cloud version, for example, is associated with high hurdles and the data cannot be transferred 1:1. For this reason, the relevant points are presented below:
Advantages of the on-premise version
- A connection to the Internet is not necessary. Your users only need access your network where Stackfield is hosted.
- Your company has full control over the Stackfield instance, but also bears full responsibility for it.
- You can switch from the cloud to the on-premise version of Stackfield at any time (e. g. after a free trial). If necessary, all your data can be taken along via a so-called migration project, which is carried out by our team. All your data will be transferred. In contrast, due to technical restrictions, a direct migration of all data from the on-premise version to the cloud is not possible and can only be realized with additional manual effort.
Advantages of Stackfield as a cloud solution
No in-house IT required
With the cloud version, you don't need server capacity, installations and security systems or your own team of IT experts with a system administrator. Stackfield takes care of the entire hosting, including maintenance and care. You can start right away – All you need are the end devices and a stable internet connection. (See: Which devices / browsers is Stackfield compatible with?)
For the on-premise version, Stackfield only provides its own software, i.e. the Stackfield programme. All IT resources must be available in your company. See system requirements in the Learning Centre. In addition to Stackfield's license costs, there are other (opportunity) costs, such as employee time and know-how development, server, database and additional software.
Maximum performance, minimum effort
Our team constantly monitors the cloud version. Should a serious problem occur, the implemented business continuity process comes into effect. Performance problems are also usually resolved before they become noticeable to your users. In the event of an incident, our team intervenes without delay and can immediately restore availability or implement a solution thanks to its knowledge of the systems. The current status of our systems can be viewed here. For other (individual) problems/cases, users can contact our support team directly for assistance without involving your own IT department (exception: firewall issues).
With the Stackfield on-premise version, your team has to take care of all the monitoring itself, including performance and memory usage. It must ensure that all functions of the system are always available and that malfunctions, including those of the underlying infrastructure, are dealt with. It should be able to detect and correct these hardware and software problems at an early stage in order to ensure a smooth operation of the system.
In the event of issues with the Stackfield software that your IT department cannot resolve by itself, it must first be able to analyze the source of the error and rule out problems with the infrastructure before consulting our team (via e-mail to onpremise [@] stackfield.com). In any case, this results in increased personnel and time expenditure. Since Stackfield does not have access to your instance, Stackfield support cannot be provided at the same speed as in the cloud version.
Automatic updates with the latest versions
With the cloud version, the latest software versions are always automatically available to you. All software updates and new functions are installed regularly and outside normal business hours. You don't notice any of this, experience virtually no restrictions and have no effort or costs.
For the on-premise version, we provide your IT with the updates that are already available in the cloud once or twice a year. This means that new functions are always available at a later stage than in the cloud.
Installing the updates also requires effort. These must either be installed by you or – if this service is requested and possible – with our team. It is important to note that no access to the data in Stackfield is possible during the installation and that users should be informed of a maintenance window of approx. 2 hours. At the same time, it is also important to keep the internal infrastructure up to date with server updates, etc. Here, too, the platform may not be available to users for a short time until your IT department has completed the maintenance work. It should also be noted that, depending on the scope of the maintenance work, a new license key may need to be requested and deposited.
Maximum data security
In the cloud version, Stackfield is fully responsible for and guarantees your data protection. An Information Security Management System (ISMS) has been established for this purpose, which is also certified in accordance with ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018. To ensure secure operation in the cloud, your data is mirrored multiple times and stored in ISO 27001-certified data centers (server location is in Germany). There are also comprehensive security mechanisms, such as a firewall to protect against cyberattacks and penetration testing to check the security of the systems and eliminate vulnerabilities. You can find out more about security and data protection in the cloud here: General Security / Data Processing Agreement.
The responsibility for data and information security lies with you and your IT when using the on-premise version. To achieve the ISO 27001 level, you generally need location-independent, redundant system backups and data backups. An emergency power supply should be available in the event of a power failure. To ensure the security of your data and protect yourself against viruses/Trojans, your company should have penetration tests carried out on its own responsibility and implement suitable solutions against these risks. All of these measures can result in relatively high costs and effort, especially when using the on-premise version with a small team.
Flexibility and scalability
The cloud version "grows" with your requirements. Depending on your needs, i. e. increasing/decreasing number of licenses and/or changed scope of functions (Business / Premium / Enterprise), the system can be scaled without additional effort. All you need to do is book the desired package (See our cloud packages).
With the on-premise version, there is only one range of functions with a minimum order quantity is 100 licenses (See our overview page for the on-premise version). To scale the on-premise version, it may also be necessary to adapt the internal server infrastructure in order to meet the increasing requirements of a growing user base. See the system requirements for information on the necessary equipment. In addition to the Stackfield license costs, additional costs and expenses may therefore arise.
How do I make a decision that suits my company?
To assess the situation, your team can use the following questions as a guide:
- Do we already have the necessary infrastructure in place, including the means to secure the instance against attacks and system failures, or do we need to invest in this?
- What costs are incurred by scaling the systems compared to cloud use?
- Do we have the necessary internal knowledge for the administration, e. g. for Windows and Linux servers?
- Is there a system administrator who has sufficient capacity to manage the instance (see maintenance and updates)?
- Do we have the necessary means to recover all data within a suitable timeframe in the event of a disaster?
If all questions are answered with "yes", the requirements for the on-premise operation of Stackfield are met – regardless of an assessment of the cost-effectiveness compared to the cloud version.
If you have any questions: Get in touch with our team!