On-premise AI

Can a small business run AI on-premise or in its own cloud?

Short answer

Yes, in three ways: a private server and database run for you, AI inside your own cloud account, or hardware in your building. Most small businesses need the first. A disability services nonprofit in Northeast Indiana runs its AI in its own AWS account with AImpact Nexus, and our own company AI runs on hardware we own. Before you buy any on-site box, ask where the AI model itself runs.

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Three ways to run AI you control

“On-premise” gets used for all three. They keep different things private and cost different amounts.

Private server, run for you

Where it runs
A dedicated server and database for your company only, managed by us.
The AI model
Leading models (Claude, GPT, Gemini) under your own AI account, or ours.
Fits
Most businesses of 5 to 200 people. Private from coworkers and other companies, nothing to maintain.
Cost
$599/mo with your own AI, $699/mo with ours, plus implementation.

Inside your own cloud account

Where it runs
Your AWS (or other cloud) account. The data and the processing never leave it.
The AI model
Models offered inside your cloud, for example Amazon Bedrock on AWS.
Fits
Records you are legally responsible for, funder or client contracts that name where data may live, an IT team that wants the keys.
Cost
Scoped per business. Your cloud bill is yours and you can see every line.

Hardware in your building

Where it runs
A machine on your network, behind your firewall.
The AI model
Open models running on that machine, or the box calls a cloud model, which means data still leaves.
Fits
Sites with no reliable internet, or a rule that nothing goes off-site at all.
Cost
You buy, power and replace the hardware. Open models that fit on one box trail the leading cloud models.

Ask this first

Where does the model run?

A box in your server closet is not private AI if it sends every question to a model provider. That is fine when you know it and chose it. It is a problem when the pitch said your data never leaves. Ask any vendor, including us:

  1. Where does the AI model itself run? On the box, in my cloud account, or at a model provider?
  2. If it calls a model provider, which one, under whose account, and is my data used for training?
  3. Who can see what inside the system: every employee, or only the people I allow?
  4. Is every action the AI takes written to a log I can read?
  5. Can I stop every agent at once, and who approves anything that sends or spends?
  6. If we part ways, how do I get my data out, and in what format?

Running today

Not a plan. Already deployed.

  • A nonprofit in its own AWS account

    A disability services nonprofit in Northeast Indiana runs its AI assistant inside its own AWS account, using models through Amazon Bedrock. Its records stay in the account it controls.

  • Our own AI on hardware we own

    AImpact Nexus runs its own company AI on a machine we own, not a rented chat app. We run it the way we ask clients to.

  • One database per client

    Every AImpact OS client gets its own database. No client shares a database with another company.

Managed AI Provider

You don't staff it. We run it.

Where the AI runs is half the job. The other half is running it: permissions, approvals, a halt switch, model upgrades and an audit trail of every action. As a Managed AI Provider we do that every month, wherever the system lives. We call it governed intelligence.

AImpact Nexus is a Managed AI Provider (MAP): the MSP model, applied to AI. Our founder spent 17 years running a managed services company before its $7M exit. Same playbook: we set it up, keep it running, and stay accountable for it. What is a Managed AI Provider?

Who it's for

  • Nonprofits and human services

    Client records and funder rules about where data may live.

  • Health, legal and financial offices

    Sensitive files where a public chatbot is not an option.

  • Manufacturers

    ERP and shop-floor data you want kept in-house.

  • Companies with an IT team

    You want the cloud account and the keys in your name.

Pricing

What it costs

Published prices. Month-to-month on the OS.

AImpact OS

$599/mo

your AI · $699/mo if we carry usage

  • Dedicated virtual private server and database
  • Employee brain (private employee data)
  • Company Brain with ACLs (private company data)
  • Vault, notetaker, workspace, chat
  • One REINS — we run it
  • Two named instances
  • Updates and support

Extra named instance — $79/mo

After the first two. Sidekick, employee brain, support. $104/mo if we carry usage.

Implementation — from $5,000 one-time

Setup, company knowledge loaded, your people onboarded.

Add-ons

Extra REINS $199/mo. ARIA Studio (marketing) $799/mo. Custom apps on a second server from $149/mo.

Installs inside your own cloud account or on your hardware are not on the price sheet; they are scoped per business. Book a call to price one.

Full pricing

Questions buyers ask

Can a small business run AI on-premise or in its own cloud?

Yes, in three ways: a private server and database run for you, AI inside your own cloud account, or hardware in your building. Most small businesses need the first. A disability services nonprofit in Northeast Indiana runs its AI in its own AWS account with AImpact Nexus, and our own company AI runs on hardware we own. Before you buy any on-site box, ask where the AI model itself runs.

What is on-premise AI?

On-premise AI means the AI system runs on hardware or in an account the business controls, instead of in a public chat app. In practice it covers three setups: a private server managed for you, AI inside your own cloud account, and a physical machine in your building.

Does an on-site AI box keep my data from leaving the building?

Only if the AI model runs on the box. Many on-site boxes send each request to a cloud model provider, so the data still leaves. Ask the vendor where the model runs and whose account it uses. If they bill model usage separately, the model is usually in the cloud.

Can the AI run in our own AWS account?

Yes. AImpact Nexus deploys inside the customer’s own cloud account when the work calls for it. A disability services nonprofit in Northeast Indiana runs its AI assistant in its own AWS account today, using models through Amazon Bedrock.

Is on-premise AI better than cloud AI?

Not by default. A private server run for you keeps your data private from other companies and is easier to keep patched. Your own cloud account adds control over where data lives. Hardware on site makes sense when nothing may leave the building, but the open models that fit on one machine trail the leading cloud models.

What does on-premise or own-cloud AI cost?

The AImpact OS on a private server is $599/mo with your own AI or $699/mo with ours, plus implementation from $5,000 one-time. Installs inside your own cloud account and on-site hardware are scoped per business after a 30-minute call.

Do you hold compliance certifications?

No. We do not claim any compliance certification. Tell us your requirements on a call and we will tell you plainly what we can and cannot meet.

Related answers

Decide where your AI lives.

Thirty minutes with our team. Tell us what data can't leave; we'll show you the setup that keeps it there.

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