Organizations looking to implement privileged access management face a straightforward but important choice: install PAM software on your own servers or use a cloud-based SaaS solution. This decision affects your budget, the expertise you need on staff, and how much time your team spends maintaining the system versus managing actual security.
Both on-site and cloud-based PAM can manage privileged access effectively. The real difference lies in who handles the operational work. On-premises means your team manages everything from servers to patches. Cloud-based means the vendor handles infrastructure while you focus on access policies and users.
This choice impacts your organization for years, so it’s worth understanding what each approach actually involves.
On-Site PAM: Managing Everything In-House
On-premises PAM means purchasing software and running it on infrastructure you own and operate. While vendors provide the software and support, your organization handles the servers, installation, ongoing maintenance, and day-to-day operations. You get direct control over your security infrastructure but take on significant operational commitment.
Many organizations choose on-premises deployment because they want complete oversight of their security infrastructure, have specific compliance requirements about data location, or need extensive customization. However, the operational responsibilities are often more extensive than organizations initially realize, and the expertise required can be challenging to find and retain.
Complete Infrastructure Control
Self-hosting puts you in charge of server specifications, network configuration, database management, and integration points. You can implement custom workflows, enforce specific security policies, and modify configurations that might not be available in cloud deployments.
You also maintain complete control over where privileged access data is stored and processed, which some compliance frameworks require and some organizations prefer for security reasons.
Better Integration with Legacy Systems
On-premises PAM typically integrates more easily with older applications and existing security tools that weren’t designed for cloud connectivity. If your organization runs legacy systems that can’t easily connect to external services, or if you have substantial investments in on-premises security infrastructure, self-hosted PAM often provides smoother integration paths.
What You’re Actually Managing
Running vendor PAM software on-premises involves more operational responsibility than many organizations anticipate. Your team becomes responsible for:
Infrastructure and Setup:
- Server hardware, storage, and networking equipment
- Operating system installation and hardening
- Database installation, configuration, and optimization
- Initial PAM software installation and configuration
- Security and network integration
Daily Operations:
- Server monitoring and maintenance
- Database administration and performance tuning
- Security patch testing and deployment
- Backup and disaster recovery operations
- User support and troubleshooting
Ongoing Requirements:
- Hardware refresh planning and implementation
- Capacity planning and scaling
- Software upgrade testing and deployment
- Integration maintenance as other systems change
- Specialized staff training and retention
On-premises PAM implementations typically take several months from software purchase to full production deployment. This timeline includes infrastructure planning, hardware procurement, installation, extensive testing, integration work, and user training.
When growth requires additional capacity, you’ll need to plan hardware upgrades, test scaling scenarios, and potentially manage complex data migration processes.
Cloud-Based PAM: Focusing on Access Management
Cloud-based PAM shifts operational responsibility to the vendor. You access the platform through a web browser while the vendor handles infrastructure, maintenance, scaling, and support. This eliminates operational overhead while letting you focus on access policies and user management.
SaaS PAM appeals to organizations that want to focus their security teams on access policies and threat response rather than infrastructure management. It also works well for organizations with limited IT resources or those that prefer predictable subscription costs over large capital expenditures and ongoing operational expenses.
Eliminated Infrastructure Management
The vendor handles all infrastructure-related responsibilities, including server management, security patches, database administration, capacity planning, disaster recovery, and 24/7 monitoring. Your team doesn’t get involved in server problems, emergency patches, or hardware failures.
This operational shift allows your security team to focus on configuring access policies, managing user permissions, monitoring privileged activity, and responding to security events rather than server administration.
Rapid Implementation and Scaling
Cloud PAM implementations typically have shorter deployment timelines than on-premises solutions. Implementation involves account setup and configuration, policy definition and user mapping, integration with existing systems, and user training without hardware procurement or complex installation processes.
The platform automatically scales as your organization grows. Whether you need to support 100 users or 10,000, the infrastructure adapts without hardware planning, capacity management, or migration projects on your part.
Predictable Cost Structure
Most cloud PAM uses subscription pricing based on actual usage, typically per user or per endpoint. This provides predictable monthly costs instead of large upfront capital expenditures for hardware and software licenses.
You also eliminate ongoing costs for hardware maintenance, replacement cycles, specialized infrastructure staff, and the hidden costs of system administration time that on-premises solutions require.
Integration Capabilities
Modern cloud PAM platforms provide integration through APIs and pre-built connectors that vendors have developed across thousands of deployments. Based on our platform capabilities, this includes lightweight connectors for Active Directory integration, APIs for SIEM platforms like Sentinel and Splunk, single sign-on with Azure AD and SAML providers, and integration with collaboration tools like Teams, Slack, ServiceNow, and Jira for approval workflows.
Most integration challenges that organizations worry about have standard solutions that cloud vendors have already solved and refined.
Making Your Decision
The choice between on-site and cloud PAM should align with your organization’s technical capabilities, operational preferences, and strategic direction rather than theoretical concerns about control or security.
Assess Your Technical Resources
Consider whether you have staff experienced with PAM platforms and database administration. Evaluate if your IT team can take on additional infrastructure management responsibilities or if they’re already stretched with existing systems. Think about the availability and cost of specialized PAM expertise in your area.
Also consider what else your security team could accomplish if they weren’t managing PAM infrastructure. Often, the opportunity cost of dedicating resources to system administration outweighs the perceived benefits of direct control.
Consider Your Operational Preferences
Some organizations prefer the predictable subscription costs of cloud solutions, while others prefer the capital expenditure model of owned infrastructure. Consider your organization’s approach to technology investments and operational risk.
Think about your tolerance for being responsible when things go wrong at 3 AM versus having vendor support handle infrastructure problems.
Evaluate Compliance Requirements
Review what your compliance frameworks actually require about data location and management. Many regulations that organizations assume require on-premises deployment can be met through appropriate cloud provider certifications and controls.
Consider whether your compliance needs are better served by focusing your team on access policies and monitoring rather than infrastructure management.
Why Cloud PAM Usually Makes More Sense
Most organizations today operate in distributed environments with cloud services, remote workers, and SaaS applications. Cloud PAM platforms are designed specifically for these environments and typically provide better coverage with less operational complexity.
The operational benefits include access to specialized vendor expertise, automatic security updates and new features, built-in high availability and disaster recovery, and elimination of infrastructure management overhead.
From a financial perspective, cloud solutions often have lower total cost of ownership when you factor in staff time, infrastructure costs, and the hidden expenses of ongoing system management. You get predictable operational costs instead of variable infrastructure expenses and capital expenditure cycles.
Organizations that move to cloud PAM consistently report improved operational efficiency and reduced infrastructure management burden.
How Admin By Request Works
Admin By Request’s Zero Trust Platform demonstrates the advantages of cloud-first PAM architecture. Our Endpoint Privilege Management solution manages privileged access across Windows, macOS, and Linux environments without requiring any infrastructure investment from customers.
Implementation happens within days to weeks for smaller deployments, though larger organizations may require longer timelines. New security features and improvements deploy automatically without customer involvement. The Lifetime Free Plan gives full access to all features on up to 25 endpoints, with unlimited scaling available through paid plans.
Our Secure Remote Access solution shows how cloud-first design enables better security outcomes with operational simplicity. It provides browser-based remote access without VPN requirements, including Unattended Access for protocol-level connections via RDP, SSH, and VNC; Vendor Access through our access.work portal for external parties; and Remote Support for live screen-sharing sessions with comprehensive session recording.
Both solutions integrate with existing infrastructure through established connectors and APIs. We connect to Active Directory through lightweight agents, provide security event data to SIEM platforms through REST APIs, and support single sign-on with Azure AD, SAML, and Office365. Approval workflows integrate with Teams, Slack, ServiceNow, and Jira. The platform handles all operational complexity so organizations can focus on managing privileged access rather than maintaining infrastructure.
Ready to see how straightforward cloud PAM can be? Book a demo or ask us for a quote, and we’d be happy to help.
