The Core Trade-Off
On-premise cloud and hosted cloud solve the same problem — professional infrastructure management — with different trade-offs. On-premise: your data stays at your location, you bear hardware costs, performance is not internet-dependent. Hosted: no hardware investment, accessible from anywhere, performance depends on your internet connection. The right choice depends on which trade-offs matter most for your specific organisation.
Decision Framework: Five Questions
Question 1 — Must the data physically stay on your premises?
If yes: on-premise cloud is the correct choice, regardless of cost. If data sovereignty is a hard requirement, hosted cloud cannot meet it — even the best Indian data centre is not your premises. If no (most Indian SMEs): continue to the next question.
Question 2 — Do you have very high internal throughput requirements?
If your workloads generate terabytes of internal traffic (large-scale video, very high-frequency database operations, internal AI/ML pipelines): LAN-speed on-premise access eliminates internet bandwidth constraints that hosted cloud cannot. For standard accounting software and business applications: internet bandwidth is sufficient and this factor does not apply.
Question 3 — What is your concurrent user count?
For 2–30 users: hosted cloud at ₹700/user/month is economically superior in almost every scenario over 3 years. For 50+ users with long time horizon: on-premise economics become competitive. Most Indian SMEs fall in the range where hosted cloud is clearly better value.
Question 4 — Do you have existing enterprise hardware?
If you own enterprise-grade servers (under 3 years old, well-specified): on-premise cloud may leverage this existing investment. If starting fresh or with aging hardware: hosted cloud avoids the capex entirely.
Question 5 — Can you accommodate remote management access?
On-premise cloud management by M A Global Network requires secure remote management connectivity to your facility. If your network or security policies cannot accommodate remote management access, on-premise managed service is not viable — you would need to manage the infrastructure internally.
Decision Matrix
| Condition | Recommended Choice |
|---|---|
| Data sovereignty is a hard requirement | On-Premise Cloud |
| 2–30 users, standard accounting software | Hosted Cloud (₹700/user/month) |
| High internal throughput (TB/day internal transfers) | On-Premise Cloud |
| Starting fresh, no existing hardware | Hosted Cloud |
| Existing enterprise hardware under 3 years old | On-Premise Cloud (leverage existing investment) |
| Remote access from multiple locations primary requirement | Hosted Cloud |
| 50+ users, 5-year horizon | On-Premise Cloud (economics may favour) |
| Uncertain or growing requirements | Hosted Cloud (scale easily, no capex commitment) |
If You Are Unsure
Start with hosted cloud. Zero capex, immediate deployment, fully managed, and the ability to evaluate in production before any long-term infrastructure commitment. If on-premise cloud is genuinely needed — data sovereignty, throughput, or scale economics — M A Global Network migrates from hosted to on-premise when the case is clearly established. The reverse (on-premise to hosted) is also supported.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. M A Global Network provides assessments for both hosted and on-premise cloud, including total cost of ownership projections for your specific user count and workload. The assessment is a working document — no obligation to proceed with either option until you are satisfied with the analysis. Contact the team to initiate an assessment.
Not Sure Which Is Right? We Will Help You Decide Honestly.
M A Global Network provides both options and recommends based on your requirements — not on which is more profitable for us.