Kiteworks Comparison: On-premises vs. Hosted vs. FedRAMP

Consider the following when deciding where to deploy your Kiteworks instance. On-premises systems can provide customers with the most control, but also the most responsibility. Typical cloud systems have accessibility, cost, security, and scalability advantages, and Kiteworks Enterprise Hosting adds a higher level of security and control. Federally authorized Kiteworks FedRAMP maximizes security with a set of services and controls wrapped around a single-tenant hosted system.

Feature or Service Provided by Kiteworks	On-premises	Enterprise Hosted	FedRAMP Hosted
Accessibility and Control
Private, single-tenant application instance	✓	✓	✓
Complete customer control of and responsibility for content, with no accessibility by vendor or authorities	✓	✓	✓
24/7 monitoring for system down conditions	Available*	✓	✓
Reliability/availability SLA		✓	✓
Backup and restore		✓	✓
Enables IT staff remote work		✓	✓
Expense Structure
Subscription application and OS: zero CapEx, predictable OpEx	✓	✓	✓
Subscription infrastructure: zero CapEx, predictable OpEx		✓	✓
Infrastructure systems management, floorspace, racking, power, cooling, network, maintenance, and upgrades		✓	✓
Infrastructure Scale-out
Elastic: no wait to purchase, rack, stack, and configure		✓	✓
General Security
Hardened virtual appliance with internal firewall, WAF, IDS, bounty program, and pen testing	✓	✓	✓
Least privilege default access permissions and policy settings	✓	✓	✓
FIPS 140-2 Validated encryption	Available	Available	✓
Patching of application, OS, and other system components	Available*	Available*	Available*
Anonymous location that deters hackers		✓	✓
Physical access controls		✓	✓
Perimeter network security including firewall, WAF, IDS, security monitoring, and security operations		✓	✓
FedRAMP Security: Authorization and monitoring by accredited 3rd Party Assessment Organization (3PAO), consisting of:
Screened, U.S.-based support and service personnel			✓
Penetration tests from the internet and corporate intranet			✓
Review and validation of 325 security controls for NIST 800-53: System security Vulnerability management Contingency plans Incident response plans Awareness and training Configuration management			✓
Monthly reports on incidents and configuration changes			✓
Annual assessments (repeated audits and tests)			✓

*Included in Kiteworks Premium Support offering