Where the data lives
An RMM holds device inventory, credentials or remote access, scripts and ticket history for every customer. With a cloud RMM it lives in the vendor's cloud and region; self-hosted, it lives on your server, in your country, under your backups. Customers in regulated industries, or with contracts about where their data may go, often ask.
Who keeps it running
A cloud RMM is maintained by the vendor: updates, backups, uptime and scaling. Self-hosted, those are yours: operating system patches, the RMM's own updates, TLS certificates, backups that are copied off the server and tested, and monitoring of the RMM itself. Be honest about whether your team will do that every month.
Security
A shared cloud platform serves many MSPs at once, which makes it an attractive target, and you depend on the vendor's security. Self-hosting removes that shared exposure but makes your own server the target: put it behind single sign-on or multi-factor sign-in, keep it patched, expose as little as possible to the internet, and keep offline backups.
Network reach
Technicians and site collectors must reach a self-hosted server: either over the internet on HTTPS, or over a VPN. Cloud RMMs are reachable from anywhere by design.
Cost
Cloud RMMs are usually priced per device or per technician. Self-hosted adds the server (on premises or a cloud virtual machine) and the time to look after it, and may be licensed differently. Compare the total over three years at your expected growth, not the first month.
Questions to answer
- Do any customers require their data to stay in a certain place or with you?
- Who will patch, back up and monitor the RMM server, and who covers when they are away?
- How will technicians and collectors reach it securely?
- What does each option cost over three years at your expected device count?
- How do you get your data out if you change later?
Where TechSavve RMM fits
TechSavve RMM is self-hosted: install it on your own Linux server, or Windows for a small office, with backups and off-server copies built in. If you want the control without running the server, DFWTechPros can host it for you. See how it works or compare it with cloud RMMs.