On-Premise RTLS

An RTLS architecture where all hardware and software components are hosted within the customer's own facilities rather than in the cloud. Provides complete control over data and infrastructure but requires capital investment and internal IT management. Suitable for organizations with security requirements preventing cloud use.

RTLS system architecture where all software, data storage, and processing occur on servers located at customer facility rather than cloud/hosted environments. On-premise advantages: (1) Data sovereignty - location data remains on customer premises, addressing privacy and security concerns (particularly for facilities handling sensitive information). (2) Network independence - system operates without internet connectivity, immune to ISP outages. (3) Low latency - local processing provides minimal delay (10-100ms vs. 100-500ms for cloud round-trips), critical for time-sensitive applications like collision avoidance. (4) Performance control - customer controls server sizing and performance. (5) Compliance - easier to satisfy regulatory requirements requiring data remain in specific jurisdictions. (6) Predictable costs - capital expenditure for infrastructure vs. ongoing operational expenses for cloud subscriptions. On-premise challenges: (1) IT infrastructure requirements - customer must provide servers, storage, networking, backup systems (typical requirements: 2-4 servers with 16-64GB RAM, 500GB-5TB storage depending on scale). (2) IT expertise - customer responsible for installation, configuration, maintenance, updates, troubleshooting (requiring dedicated IT staff or vendor support contracts). (3) Uptime responsibility - customer ensures availability through backup power, redundant systems, disaster recovery. (4) Scalability - expanding system requires hardware procurement and installation vs. elastic cloud scaling. (5) Capital investment - upfront infrastructure costs $20-100k depending on scale vs. incremental cloud subscription. (6) Software updates - customer manages update process vs. automatic cloud updates.

Typical on-premise deployment timeline: 8-16 weeks (hardware procurement, software installation, configuration, testing), vs. 2-4 weeks for cloud.

Most industrial RTLS deployments remain on-premise: 60-70% installed on-premise, 20-30% cloud, 10-20% hybrid.