Full control over video conferences: On-premises instead of cloud

The decision between cloud and on-premises has long since become a strategic issue—especially for organizations that value data protection, digital sovereignty, and full control over their IT.

What exactly is on-premises?

“On-premises” (or “on-prem” for short) refers to running software on your own servers and within your company's IT infrastructure. The term can be translated as “on site” or “in-house.” This means that the company itself is responsible for installing, maintaining, securing, and updating the software.

According to the State of Cybersecurity Report 2025 by HarfangLab, around 40% of companies in Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands rate their IT risk as “very high” or “extremely high,” partly due to the increasing use of AI by cybercriminals.

Particularly striking: 70% of companies consider themselves too dependent on non-European technology, and 78% of decision-makers now consider digital sovereignty to be a decisive criterion. For 59%, this is a decisive factor when making purchases. 11% even rate it as the most important purchasing argument.

As a result, on-premises solutions are no longer a nostalgic alternative—they are a strategic component of modern IT security concepts. Around 31% of the companies surveyed prefer local solutions in order to have more complete control over their IT, and around 17% are planning a specific switch to on-premises solutions in the next two years.

More control instead of blind trust in the cloud

Cloud services have become an integral part of today's IT world. They offer convenience, scalability, and fast deployment. But especially in times of growing demands for data protection, compliance, and digital sovereignty, it is becoming clear that the cloud is not the right solution for everyone. More and more organizations are consciously opting for on-premises solutions.

And that is not a step backward, but a step toward control, security, and independence. Because on-premises means you decide where your data is stored, who has access to it, and how it is protected. No data migrates uncontrolled to foreign data centers. No flying blind when it comes to compliance issues. No vendor lock-in. Instead: transparency, traceability, and full sovereignty over your own IT.

What are the advantages of on-premises solutions?

1. Full data control: With an on-premises solution, you decide where your data is stored, who has access to it, and how it is protected. This is a decisive advantage, especially when it comes to sensitive information such as patient data or official documents.
2. Data sovereignty and independence: You avoid dependence on non-European cloud providers such as Microsoft, AWS, or Google, while at the same time complying with European data protection regulations such as the GDPR—a key aspect for many organizations in Europe.
3. Greater security through your own infrastructure: Targeted configurations, such as your own firewalls, access restrictions, and network controls, allow you to precisely control the level of security without having to rely on the cloud's “shared responsibility” model.
4. Better integration and adaptability: On-premises systems can be individually tailored to internal processes, interfaces to legacy systems, and specific requirements, making them ideal for companies with complex IT landscapes.
5. Reliability and fail-safety: Since local systems function independently of the internet or cloud outages, they are particularly important for critical infrastructures, production environments, or regions with poor network coverage.

OpenTalk: Designed for sovereign communication

From the outset, OpenTalk was designed to be operated entirely on-premises—without hidden cloud components, without data leakage, and without compromising data protection or security. The software runs on your own infrastructure, meets the highest compliance requirements, and integrates seamlessly into existing IT landscapes.

Whether via LDAP/AD connection, single sign-on, or individual API interfaces, OpenTalk offers maximum control, customizability, and independence: Made in Europe, open source, and future-proof.

OpenTalk is also available as a GDPR-compliant SaaS offering. This variant is particularly suitable for organizations looking for a quickly usable solution without their own server operation. Depending on your needs, you can choose between complete control with on-premises and security and convenience with SaaS.