On-Premise vs Cloud Deployment¶
Definition¶
When and why to deploy eKYC on-premise vs cloud — driven by regulation, data sovereignty, security requirements, and cost.
Comparison¶
| Aspect | Cloud | On-Premise |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Hours-days | Weeks-months |
| Scaling | Auto-scaling | Manual capacity planning |
| Cost model | OpEx (pay-as-you-go) | CapEx (upfront hardware) |
| Data sovereignty | Data in cloud provider's region | Data in your own data center |
| GPU availability | On-demand | Fixed capacity |
| Maintenance | Cloud provider manages | Your team manages |
| Compliance | SOC2, ISO 27001 (cloud) | Full control for audit |
When On-Premise Is Required¶
| Driver | Example |
|---|---|
| Regulation | Government agencies requiring data within national boundaries |
| Military/defense | Classified environments |
| Banking regulation | Some jurisdictions require on-premise biometric processing |
| Data sovereignty | Country without local cloud region |
| Latency | Edge processing at border control points |
Key Takeaways¶
Summary
- Cloud is default for most eKYC — faster, cheaper, more scalable
- On-premise when regulation demands it — government, defense, specific banking requirements
- Hybrid is increasingly common — processing on-premise, management/updates from cloud
- eKYC vendors that offer both deployment models have competitive advantage