Colltrain self-hosted licensing vs the subscription model

When does the self-hosted deployment of Colltrain make more sense than choosing the cloud subscription?

Is self-hosted deployment a better fit for your company than a cloud subscription? Discover the factors that could influence your decision in this informative post.

What is a self-hosted installation for virtual training systems?

Self-hosted systems refer to software solutions installed and operated locally or remote within an organisation’s infrastructure. An self-hosted instance of Colltrain can be hosted on the company’s internal servers or run on the infrastructure of an cloud service provider (examples: IONOS, AMAZON Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Akamai Linode, Digital Ocean, OVHcloud) , depending on how much control the organisation desires to maintain over its own data.

What organisations would choose self-hosting over cloud subscriptions for virtual training?

Organisations in the banking, insurance, energy, military and police, universities and financial institutions sectors often prioritise data security, compliance and control over their learning environments. These factors make the self-hosted solutions a preferred choice for these organisations as they allow customisation of the system to meet their unique requirements while ensuring robust data protection and adherence to industry-specific regulations.

Banking

Banks often prioritise data security and compliance, making self-hosted systems attractive. By hosting the virtual training platform in-house, banks can maintain complete control over their data, implement robust security measures, and ensure compliance with regulations such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Insurance Industry

Insurance companies deal with confidential customer information and have regulatory obligations. A self-hosted software allows them to maintain data sovereignty, implement stringent security measures, and comply with industry-specific regulations like HIPAA for health information privacy. Customisation options enable insurance companies to align the training platform with their specific workflows and training requirements.

Energy Sector

The energy sector encompasses oil and gas exploration companies, renewable energy production, and utilities. Deploying a self-hosted solution ensures uninterrupted access to training materials and resources. It also allows energy companies to customise the remote delivery to align with their safety protocols and compliance requirements.

Military, Police, and Law Enforcement

Military and police organisations handle classified information, security protocols, and specialised training programs. They typically prioritise data security and have strict control over their systems. Self hosting enables these organisations to maintain complete data control and ensures compliance with security protocols. The ability to customise Colltrain features facilitates the integration of specialised training modules and aligns the system with its unique operational requirements.

Universities

Universities often have diverse and complex learning needs requiring a self-hosted training solution. A proprietary solution allows universities more significant control over their learning environment. It provides the flexibility to customise it to meet the needs of specific academic programs, branding, and integration with existing systems such as student information or library systems.

Financial Institutions

Financial institutions, including investment, asset management, and brokerage firms, handle sensitive customer financial data and adhere to stringent compliance regulations. By choosing a self-hosted software for virtual training, these organisations can maintain data control and customise the system to align with compliance processes. They also ensure that training materials meet their specific needs and regulatory requirements.

Healthcare and Pharma

Large organisations dealing with highly sensitive data, such as healthcare providers or research institutions, may opt for self-hosted learning platform. This allows them to keep their data within their infrastructure, implementing robust security measures and minimising the risk of data breaches.

What are the benefits of the self-hosted Colltrain licence model for virtual training?

Let’s talk flexibility, customisation security, compliance and cost. Here are a few reasons, in no particular order, why large organisations might choose a self-hosted instance of the Colltrain software:

Self-hosted solutions security

Self-hosted solutions enable enhanced security measures, primarily because the organisation controls the infrastructure and data. Some advantages include:

• Organisations with a self-hosted Colltrain installation have complete control of their data. They can implement security protocols, encryption standards and access controls to protect sensitive learning data.
• Compliance concerns can be alleviated by self-hosting the virtual training platform. Organisations can align their system with industry standards and internal policies without relying on external providers.
•  Limited External Access: Limiting the platform to internal use reduces the risk of unauthorised data breaches. External access to the system is typically limited to authorised individuals within the organisation, reducing its vulnerability to attack.

Maintenance of the self-hosted installation

The self-hosted solution could give organisations more control over system maintenance, updates, and upgrades.
It also offers some other advantages:

• Customised Maintenance Schedule
  Organisations can define their maintenance schedule, which allows them to perform updates and maintenance activities at times that are most convenient for their learners.
• Control over the updates/upgrades schedule
  Organisations that self-hosted solutions can better control when and how updates or upgrades are implemented. This allows them to thoroughly test new features and functionalities in their specific environment before rolling them out to users.
• Limited Dependence on External Providers
  With self-hosting, organisations are not dependent on third-party providers for support and can directly address issues as they arise.

Colltrain self-hosted app customisation

Self-hosted software solutions (including on-premise installations) offer greater customisation options for organisations that want to tailoring their learning systems to fit their unique needs. Let’s check on some of the advantages in this area:

• Integration with other systems
  System integration allows organisations to seamlessly integrate theirself-hosted systems with other internal systems, such as HR platforms and student information systems. This integration results in smoother data flow and more streamlined processes.
• Branding and User Interface
  A dedicated installation allows organisations to customise the user interface and branding elements to align with their corporate identity. This creates a cohesive learning experience, which enhances the organisation’s brand presence.
• Workflow alignment
  Self-hosted platforms can be customised to match an organisation’s specific workflows, giving learners and administrators a familiar and intuitive user experience.

Virtual training platform long-term cost

The organisation’s size, usage patterns and financial resources can affect the decision to use self-hosted installation or cloud subscription. While upfront costs are associated with hardware and infrastructure, organisations may find that recurring costs of cloud subscriptions and flexibility differences outweigh initial investment over time.

Conclusion

Colltrain cloud frees organisations from the burden of managing infrastructure, allowing them to focus more on their core business functions, but…

Organisations should carefully assess their requirements, budget and available resources before deciding between a Colltrain self-hosted model or the cloud-based option.

Organisations considering the self-hosted option should be aware that such solution offers advantages in terms of security, maintenance, and customisation but also require the organisation to allocate additional resources for hardware / virtual instances, infrastructure and technical expertise. 

The decision between Colltrain’s self-hosted model and the cloud subscription ultimately depends on the organisation’s specific requirements, resources and priorities.