New 42-day free trial
Smarty

Which is more secure and reliable—On-premise or cloud software?

Davin Perkins
Davin Perkins
 | 
September 6, 2022
Tags
Which is more secure and reliable—On-premise or cloud software index image

No matter the industry, data security is, and always will be, paramount. Data breaches can cause significant revenue loss and customer trust.

No doubt you remember the 2017 Equifax data breach. This breach affected 148 million records, including social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and, in some cases, driver's license numbers and credit card information. Equifax paid out $700 million in damages to help people affected by the data breach, and suffered through reputational damage and congressional inquiries.

To avoid a breach like that, you might be wondering, "Will my information be safer in the cloud or on-premise?"

In addition to security, you should be asking about reliability and uptime. In this article, we'll break down each of these three factors.

on-premise-vs-cloud software ebook

On-premise security, reliability & uptime

Security

With an on-premise solution, you license the software, and it all resides on your premises. This means you don't need to trust another company with your private data, and having all your data located within your in-house servers and IT infrastructure provides peace of mind.

Companies with extra sensitive information or those in highly regulated industries, such as government and banking, require the level of security and privacy that an on-premise solution provides.

However, the security of a local solution is only as strong as your IT department.

Your IT team is responsible for setting security policies and installing firewalls, antivirus software, and security patches. If mismanaged, on-premise servers can still be vulnerable.

Reliability & uptime

As on-premise installations are not dependent on external systems or network connectivity, they're often considered to be more reliable. However, if your server breaks or glitches, you have a problem, and setting up a redundant system for an on-premises solution takes significant time and money.

If your systems are down, you're missing opportunities to reach customers. And while on-premise solutions don't rely on sometimes finicky internet providers, they’re limited by the number of servers you have on site. If your local server isn't working properly, neither are you!

Cloud security, reliability & uptime

Security

The gap between cloud vs on-premise security isn't as large as it used to be. Today the largest cloud providers have robust security teams and tight procedures. You may even be able to take advantage of specialized security options that would be too expensive to implement yourself.

In addition, cloud security tends to be highly automated thanks to APIs, which can make traffic analysis and network monitoring easier and faster for your IT staff.

On the other hand, using public cloud-based services requires trusting a third party with your most precious data, and as some cloud-based security services come pre-configured, you may not have options for changes.

Depending on how heavily regulated your industry is, you must also ensure any provider you choose allows for compliance with necessary regulations.

For example, at Smarty, we use several different strategies to handle data privacy and security. Take a look at how we use active PII Redaction and Enhanced Data Privacy here.

Reliability & uptime

Unlike on-premise servers, cloud solutions can quickly spin up new servers anytime a server fails. For most companies, it would be far too expensive to implement that much redundancy on-premises. Thanks to that redundancy, your work can continue without disruption.

This also means your company is dependent on the cloud provider. If support for a product is discontinued because there's a new version, or if the cloud provider ceases operations, there's not much you can do.

In addition to reliability, uptime is a big selling point for cloud services. A cloud service that scales to meet demand can increase your uptime. More uptime means less interruption in your workflow. Cha-ching!

Pro Tip: When considering a vendor, ask them about historical uptime. That will give you a good idea of the kind of uptime you can expect if you choose to work with them. Check out Smarty's historical uptime here.

Security, reliability, and uptime are just three things to consider when choosing between an on-premise or cloud solution for your business. In our ebook, On-Premise Vs Cloud Software: The 6-Step Executive Guide, we cover many more factors, including deployment speed, compliance, and total cost of ownership.

on-premise-vs-cloud software ebook

Subscribe to our blog!
Learn more about RSS feeds here.
rss feed icon
Subscribe Now
Read our recent posts
Smarty announces virtual user conference: Save the date for Pinpoint, by Smarty
Arrow Icon
OREM, UT, August 18, 2025—Smarty®, the leader in address data intelligence, is inviting developers, data decision-makers, and certified address nerds to join our first-ever 2-day virtual user conference: Pinpoint. This interactive online event will begin on November 11, 2025, and bring together a verifiably fun mix of industry experts, technical deep dives, and business-boosting insights. Participants will walk away with a better understanding of how address validation, geocoding, data enrichment, and autocomplete can solve their toughest data challenges—and maybe even score some sweet prizes while they’re at it.
How address data became Fabletics's (and others') secret sauce
Arrow Icon
Address data accuracy isn't just about getting mail delivered. Having quality address data will directly impact revenue, compliance, and customer experience. In a recent webinar, we explored real-world case studies showing how companies across industries leverage address verification and geocoding to solve expensive problems and unlock new opportunities. Healthcare data: Compliance and accuracy at scaleCuratus, a healthcare data provider, faced a critical challenge with provider directory accuracy.
Usage notifications | Get notified before hitting your lookup limit
Arrow Icon
Burning the end of a brisket can lead to some tasty results (we’re looking at you, burnt ends), but unexpectedly burning through your lookups? Not so appetizing. All users receive notifications when their API usage reaches 90% and 100%. To help users further leverage their lookups, Smarty’s cooked up a solution: the ability to get notification emails when usage reaches three additional intervals: 25%, 50%, and 70%. With these notifications working alongside usage by key and limit by key, you can manage your API usage better.

Ready to get started?