Which on-premises deployment is right for my organisation?
It depends on your regulatory requirements, your integrations and your internal capacity. Choose air gap if you are barred from any outbound connection, self-hosted if you want to run the system yourself with integrations, and managed server if you want to offload day-to-day operations.
Three questions to decide
- Can the instance open any outbound connection at all? If not, the answer is air gap.
- Do you want to operate the system yourself — database, backups, upgrades? If yes, go self-hosted. If not, consider a managed server.
- Are integrations the reason you're buying the software? Then air gap is not an option, because every connected system would have to be air gapped too.
When air gap makes sense
Air gap fits organisations whose regulations or internal policy forbid any outbound connection. It still needs a team and a flexible process to install weekly security rebuilds through a controlled transfer zone.
When self-hosted makes sense
If your regulations allow some outbound connections, self-hosted is usually the more comfortable choice. You run Easy8 on your own servers and decide which services, such as email, an identity provider for SSO, integrations or an AI provider, connect to the outside.
When managed server makes sense
If your team does not have the capacity to handle the database, backups and upgrades, a managed server keeps your data on your own infrastructure while a trusted vendor runs the technical side.
Revisit the decision
Your choice is not a one-time decision. As regulations such as NIS2, DORA or the Cyber Resilience Act evolve, reassess your classification at least once a year. Before you decide, also check with your vendor whether switching between modes later is feasible, as licensing and the runtime stack can differ.
