Ownership · Sep 2026
Why It Matters Where Your AI System Runs
Where an AI system runs decides who holds your data, who pays the bill, and what happens if you change supplier. It is worth settling before any work starts, while every option is still open.
When a business buys an AI system, the question of where it runs is easy to overlook. It decides three things that matter later.
Who Holds Your Data
If the system runs on a supplier's servers, your records pass through them. If it runs on an account you own, your data stays with you. That affects both privacy and your duties under data protection law.
Who Controls the Bill
If you open the cloud account yourself, you see and control what you pay for, directly with the provider. Nothing is marked up or hidden inside a supplier's invoice, and limits can be set in the account itself.
What Happens If You Leave
If the system already runs on your infrastructure, changing supplier does not mean moving it. You need the access and the documentation. With both in hand, a new supplier or your own team can take over without rebuilding anything.
Your AI runs on infrastructure you own: your own cloud account or VPS. No lock-in: if you leave, the system stays on your infrastructure and we hand over access and documentation.