Key takeaways
- Self-hosted means the app, database and AI run on infrastructure you control.
- The usual reason is residency, isolation or a network that cannot talk to the public internet.
- Most “on-prem CRMs” still send AI prompts to a cloud model. Ask that question separately.
- Qivity runs on Docker with PostgreSQL and Redis. Lilly is an optional add-on that then runs on your infrastructure, with egress optional.
A self-hosted CRM is software you run on infrastructure you control: your VMs, your Kubernetes cluster, your private cloud. The application, the database and — if the product is honest — the AI assistant all live there.
It is not the same as “we have a data centre region in Mumbai.” Residency of a SaaS database is useful. It is not self-hosting.
When self-hosted CRM is the right call
- A regulator or a customer contract names the processing location more tightly than a vendor region can satisfy.
- The network is air-gapped, or egress is an incident.
- You already operate PostgreSQL and would rather extend that than open a new SaaS attack surface.
- Procurement will not accept a foundation-model subprocessor, and the CRM’s assistant has to keep working anyway.
If none of those are true, a well-run hosted deployment is simpler. Self-hosting is an operations choice, not a badge.
The AI catch
Plenty of on-premise CRMs still call out to a hosted model. You have then paid for a private database and a public prompt. A private AI CRM keeps inference inside the same boundary. Qivity’s self-hosted option includes Lilly on local models. The architecture comparison is the short version.
What you actually operate
Qivity’s footprint is deliberately boring: Docker, PostgreSQL, Redis. Backups are database backups. Upgrades are image pulls. There is no proprietary appliance and no requirement for a partner to “stand up the org.”
You still need someone who can run containers and restore a database. If that person does not exist, do not self-host as a political gesture. Use hosted, keep the AI local to the deployment, and revisit when the team is ready.
Questions for the vendor
- Does the AI run in the same install, with egress off?
- Which database do we own, and can we dump it?
- What is the upgrade path without a professional-services week?
- SSO, audit export, backup retention — in the product or as a custom build?
Talk to us if self-hosting is a requirement rather than a preference. Bring the constraint (air-gap, region, DPA) rather than a generic “we want on-prem.” The constraint decides the install.