What is self hosted?

Self-hosted definition

A self-hosted service is installed and operated in your own environment. That environment may include an on-premises data center, a private cloud, or a restricted network. Your team owns the infrastructure and is responsible for its operation, while the software provider may offer deployment help, documentation, updates, or support.

Self-hosted software can run on your own hardware, an own server, or infrastructure managed by your organization. The important distinction is control of the environment and the data path, not the physical location of every component.

Self-hosted vs cloud cybersecurity platforms

Cloud services and self-hosted platforms place responsibility in different parts of the operating model. In a cloud deployment, the provider operates the underlying environment. In a self-hosted deployment, the customer controls the infrastructure and runs the platform in its own perimeter.

Why organizations choose self-hosted security platforms

Self-hosting is usually considered when data sovereignty, network restrictions, or operational control outweigh the convenience of a provider-managed cloud service.

Organizations may choose a self-hosted security platform when they need to:

• Keep sensitive telemetry within a defined perimeter.
• Operate in a disconnected or restricted network.
• Meet data residency, compliance, or sovereignty requirements.
• Control infrastructure access and update windows.
• Use existing security systems and data sources without moving them to a third-party environment.

Self-hosting does not remove operational work. The organization still needs the people, processes, hardware, network controls, storage, and support model to run the platform. That is why the provider's deployment services, documentation, release process, and support offer matter as much as the software itself.

What to consider before choosing self-hosted

A self-hosted deployment requires a clear operating model. Before choosing one, the organization should define who owns the infrastructure, who handles upgrades, how backups are managed, and how the SOC operates during a connectivity outage.

It should also assess capacity and resilience. Security platforms process a steady stream of logs and telemetry, so storage, compute, network performance, and monitoring need to match the expected workload. The team should test access controls, incident response procedures, and recovery plans before moving into production.

For smaller environments, self-hosting may save money on subscription fees but increase the time investment required to maintain the service. For regulated enterprises, the benefit is often control over data location and network boundaries rather than a lower total cost.

Sekoia Self-Hosted

Sekoia Self-Hosted brings the full Sekoia platform into the customer’s own infrastructure. It includes the same SIEM, SOAR, and Threat Intelligence capabilities used by demanding SOC teams, deployed in an on-premises data center or private cloud.

The platform runs entirely inside the organization’s perimeter, so security telemetry does not leave that environment. The customer’s team operates the platform with support from Sekoia’s Professional Services team, deployment CLI, operational runbooks, quarterly signed releases, and L3 support. Releases are tested and compatible with air-gapped environments.

Sekoia Self-Hosted is designed for regulated financial institutions, defense and government organizations, critical infrastructure operators, healthcare organizations, and MSSPs or integrators building sovereign managed detection and response services.

Self-hosted cybersecurity FAQ