Most companies aim to deploy advanced technologies in their business operations to improve business efficiency and ROI.
Chatbot has provided the way for it. However, the major challenge here is deciding which one to choose, on-premises or cloud, and which platform to use.
Indeed, the cloud technology deployment rate is higher in the past years. Still, you have many reasons that make you think about on-premise chatbots.
But before knowing further insights into an on-premise chatbot. Let’s first know-
What is a Chatbot?
A chatbot is an automated conversational agent based on artificial intelligence software that interacts with users in a natural language, usually over the Internet.
It is the most visible tool of artificial intelligence application that has gained popularity in little to no time.
Let’s discuss here-
- What Does On-Premise Mean?
- Why Does Someone Need ‘On-Premise Chatbots’ over Cloud Chatbots?
- How Do You Go About With On-Premise Chatbots?
What Does On-Premise Mean?
On-premise solutions are software located within the premises(physical locations) of an enterprise, mostly in the company’s data center rather than on hosted servers or in the cloud.
Now, Let’s know-
Why Does Someone Need ‘On-Premise Chatbots’ over Cloud Chatbots?
By running software within the company’s premises, their staff has physical access to the data and can directly control, configure, manage their data, and have very high security for their computing infrastructure and data.
To ease you in making decisions between on-premise or cloud chatbots, let’s discuss some primary factors here-
Let’s begin!
-
Security
A lot of companies host their chatbot solutions on the cloud(SaaS). It allows cloud providers to have direct control over their servers, data, and security systems. It means that your data may not be secure in the cloud and may encounter cyber-attacks and security breaches.
Cloud-based chatbot considers privacy and security and frequently changes their policies when organizations need to confront some significant issues. Highly confidential organizations like government sectors and banking sectors can’t risk a single breach in the data. On-premise chatbot solutions can fulfill their purpose here.
On the other hand, chatbot-hosted on-premises aren’t entirely invulnerable, yet companies can at least decide whom to allow access and whom to restrict.
-
Decreases Costs
Cloud-based chatbot comes with different plans based on the size and requirements of organizations. It’s evaluated under a month-to-month or yearly membership according to the use. There are extra charges for the help and updates contingent upon the company’s utilization, the expense will change.
The cost with on-premise chatbots is more initially, but the cost of ownership may end up much lesser compared to the cloud in the long run. For on-premise chatbot solutions, you eliminate direct costs and only pay your energy and maintenance costs. So think before you choose chatbot solutions for your business, focus on the total cost of ownership instead of upfront costs.
Further, it requires less operational expense after implementation. Ultimately, it will cut down the general cost of ownership.
-
Customizability
Cloud solutions integrate well with popular third-party applications and software but aren’t good at providing you the flexibility needed for your customized in-house solutions. Also, with regards to the payment, you pay for what you use. The assistance afterward comes with charges relying on the usage.
You don’t have to discard your applications tailored to your business because the on-premise system offers you customization options for working these chatbots into your existing workflows.
The on-premise solution will assist companies in keeping in-house maintenance and assistance available. With regards to this, there is less or no dependency on the vendor
-
Code Control
Cloud is appreciated for its high flexibility, but the chatbot deployed on the cloud is subject to changes with the vendor’s decisions. Enterprises deploy chatbot solutions with a long-term plan in mind. And, if the problems arise from the vendor’s side, there might be repercussions. Having an on-premises chatbot removes these roadblocks, and you can alter the code whenever needed.
-
Data Control
Chatbot handles confidential information like employee details, customer details, accounts, logistics, and other business information with significant value. When a chatbot is deployed in-house, you have control over security and access measures. Since your chatbot is not connected to any external network here, the chances of your confidential data getting leaked are significantly lower.
Now the question comes-
How do you go about with on-premise Chatbots?
1. Optimized Code
Look at chatbot solutions with better-optimized code for efficiency and fastness, which means having negligible lag irrespective of the number of people using the bot simultaneously, even on a decent system configuration, making it easier for you to scale in the long run.
2. Chatbot Builder
Building chatbots requires a lot of skills if you need to program them. Since it is very resource-intensive, having a visual flow builder can make the job easier. In this way, even the most non-technical person in your organization can build a sophisticated bot. You can choose between multiple different builders from various chatbot providers like drag and drop, graph view, click to add, etc.
3. Analytics
Having a chatbot is not enough; you need to analyze everything from session times to chats initiated, user drop-off points to visitor timing charts. The better information you have regarding your bot performance higher your chances of making it better. Having everything you need to analyze at your fingertips takes you a long way.
4. Future Enhancements
When you get an on-premise solution for your enterprise, your engagement shouldn’t stop there. Since your chatbot provider will improve the platform, having lifetime support can get you future updates/patches to your chatbot. In this way, you can stay relevant and keep your chatbot up to date with the current market trends.
At SmatBot, we offer on-premise chatbot solutions for enterprises with a Lifetime license, timely updates, and a dedicated account manager for all your needs.
Contact us for any on-premise chatbot deployment requirements, and we will be happy to assist you further.
Conclusion
Whether you deploy your chatbot on-premises or on the cloud, many factors need to be considered, like security level, customization, vendor dependency, etc. And chatbot solutions have so much to make your business more efficient, productive.
So, make the right choice and have the right method to deploy your chatbot. With multiple various chatbot providers available in the market, you decide which makes the most sense for your business in the long run.