--- title: Cloud vs. On-Prem Tools for Legal Teams description: "Before you go making software decisions, let's talk about the age-old question: on-premise or cloud-based? Trust us; you'll want to go with cloud-based." image: https://blog.linksquares.com/hubfs/Copy%20of%20General_Thumbnail%20(2)-3.png --- [Skip to content](https://blog.linksquares.com/2016/04/19/cloud-vs-prem-tools-legal-teams#main-content) [LinkSquares](https://blog.linksquares.com/) Open Mobile Menu [LinkSquares](https://linksquares.com/) Close Mobile Menu [Why LinkSquares](https://linksquares.com/why-linksquares/) [Products](https://linksquares.com/products/) --- [The LinkSquares Cloud One platform for all your in-house legal needs](https://linksquares.com/products/linksquares-cloud/) --- Contract Lifecycle Management Create, review, manage and sign contracts Legal Project Management Centralize your work and keep projects moving Cross-product capabilities Get scalability, efficiency and connectivity LinkSquares Onboarding Experience A step by step guide to get started today --- [Solutions](https://linksquares.com/solutions/) [Customer Stories](https://linksquares.com/customers/) Resources Content [LinkSquares+ Content curated for in-house leaders](https://linksquares.com/plus/) [The Library](https://linksquares.com/library/) In the studio [Demo Library](https://linksquares.com/demo-library/) Community & Events [Customer Stories](https://linksquares.com/customers/) [Events & Webinars](https://linksquares.com/events/) Learning [Blog](https://blog.linksquares.com/) [In-House Insights](https://linksquares.com/inhouse-insights/) [Knowledge Base](https://help.linksquares.com/) [Events](https://linksquares.com/events/) [About Us](https://linksquares.com/about-us/) [Careers](https://linksquares.com/careers/) [Press](https://blog.linksquares.com/tag/linksquares-news-press) [Pricing](https://linksquares.com/pricing/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Contract Lifecycle Management](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Finalize Streamline your contract creation process](https://linksquares.com/products/finalize/) [Sign Get your contracts executed faster](https://linksquares.com/products/sign/) [Analyze Your post-signature analytics & repository](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/) [CLM Suite One platform to rule them all](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Legal Project Management](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Prioritize Manage, track, and report on legal work in one place](https://linksquares.com/products/prioritize/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Cross-product capabilities](https://linksquares.com/products/) [LinkAI Predictive and generative AI](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/features/ai/) [Integrations Connect the tools you love](https://linksquares.com/integrations/) [Reporting Improve your teams efficiency with KPIs](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/features/dashboard/) [API Integrate with any third-party app](https://linksquares.com/integrations/linksquares-api/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Cross-product capabilities](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Onboarding We're here for you from day one](https://linksquares.com/onboarding-services/) [Services Short on time? 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[Learn more](https://linksquares.com/agentic-ai/) Contract Lifecycle Management Create, review, manage and sign contracts Legal Project Management Centralize your work and keep projects moving Unified Capabilities Get scalability, efficiency and connectivity LinkSquares Onboarding Experience A step by step guide to get started quickly [Finalize Streamline your contract creation process](https://linksquares.com/products/finalize/) [Sign Get your contracts executed faster](https://linksquares.com/products/sign/) [Analyze Your post-signature analytics & repository](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/) [CLM Suite One platform to rule them all](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Prioritize Manage, track, and report on legal work in one place](https://linksquares.com/products/prioritize/) [LinkAI Predictive and generative AI](https://linksquares.com/ai/) [Agentic AI Smarter contracting with a multi-agent approach](https://linksquares.com/agentic-ai/) [Integrations Connect the tools you love](https://linksquares.com/integrations/) [Reporting Improve your teams efficiency with KPIs](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/features/dashboard/) [API Integrate with any third-party app](https://linksquares.com/integrations/linksquares-api/) [Onboarding We're here for you from day one](https://linksquares.com/onboarding-services/) [Services Short on time? We can help!](https://linksquares.com/services/) [Support Get answers to all of your technical questions](https://linksquares.com/contact-us/) - Solutions Use Cases [Crisis Management](https://linksquares.com/solutions/crisis-management/) [Contract Review](https://linksquares.com/solutions/contract-review/) [Contract Storage](https://linksquares.com/solutions/contract-storage/) [Data Privacy & Compliance](https://linksquares.com/solutions/data-privacy-compliance/) [Deal Acceleration](https://linksquares.com/solutions/deal-acceleration/) [Mergers & Acquisitions](https://linksquares.com/solutions/fundraising-and-ma/) [Vendor Management](https://linksquares.com/solutions/vendor-management/) --- DEPARTMENTS [Legal](https://linksquares.com/solutions/linksquares-for-legal/) [Procurement](https://linksquares.com/solutions/linksquares-for-procurement/) [Sales](https://linksquares.com/solutions/linksquares-for-sales/) - Resources Content [LinkSquares+ Content curated for in-house leaders](https://linksquares.com/plus/) [The Library](https://linksquares.com/library/) Community & Events [Customer Stories](https://linksquares.com/customers/) [Events & Webinars](https://linksquares.com/events/) In the studio [Demo Library](https://linksquares.com/demo-library/) Learning [Blog](https://blog.linksquares.com/) [In-House Insights](https://linksquares.com/inhouse-insights/) [Knowledge Base](https://help.linksquares.com/) [![](https://blog.linksquares.com/hubfs/Navigation/website-menu-navigation-hs-risk-scoring.png)](https://linksquares.com/events/product-spotlight-webinar-risk-revolution/) - Company [About Us](https://linksquares.com/about-us/) [Careers](https://linksquares.com/careers/) [Events](https://linksquares.com/events/) [Partner Program](https://linksquares.com/partners/) [Press](https://blog.linksquares.com/tag/linksquares-news-press) - [Pricing](https://linksquares.com/pricing/) - [Login](https://app.linksquares.com/) - [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) ![cloud vs. on prem tools for legal ](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Copy%20of%20General_Header%20(1)-Jun-30-2023-01-12-23-2340-PM.png?width=575&name=Copy%20of%20General_Header%20(1)-Jun-30-2023-01-12-23-2340-PM.png) [LinkSquares Team](https://blog.linksquares.com/author/linksquares-team) Jul 03, 2023 3 min read # Cloud vs. On-Prem Tools for Legal Teams So, you're in the market for some software, eh? Well, before you go making any decisions, let's talk about the age-old question: on-premise or cloud-based? Trust us; you'll want to go with the cloud-based option. Here's why:  **No extra costs** Software as a Service (SaaS) is a very popular delivery and business model for web software. The premise of SaaS is to have access to any browser without any extra software to install locally. In contrast to on-premise software, which has hidden costs in addition to the purchase of the license. Those hidden costs include the purchase of additional hardware to run the software, a dedicated server administrator for maintenance and troubleshooting, and additional upgrades of the software as released by the vendor. **High availability** Cloud-based software vendors guarantee the availability of the software through their Service Level Agreement. It’s usually a number around 99%. That simply means that throughout the entire year, which is 525,600 minutes, the application will only go down for a total of 87.6 hours, and it’s usually for scheduled maintenance performed off-hours. On-premise software would require your internal IT team to provide and maintain that level of availability for the software to be accessible. [![evaluate clm ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6934676/a2daf65f-e39e-451a-a0f5-e6a3a2b25d05.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6934676/a2daf65f-e39e-451a-a0f5-e6a3a2b25d05) **Upgrades are rolled in** One of the best parts of using a SaaS product is that it is constantly being upgraded. On a typical day, a SaaS provider can do hundreds of upgrades to the product, most of which are transparent to you. Those hundreds of upgrades span the range of bug fixes, new features, and security patches. Your annual contract with a SaaS company has all these fixes and upgrades rolled into the cost so your team gets the highest value. On-premise software must be upgraded manually, usually sold at an extra cost. Ever since 2016, cloud-based software has been the way to go for legal teams and the businesses they power. It's a corporate model that provides the biggest benefit to the customer and the lowest overall cost. To learn more about LinkSquares legal technology, [check out](https://linksquares.com/products/) our cloud-based, award-winning contract lifecycle management (CLM) solution today.  ## Subscribe to the LinkSquares Blog Stay up to date on best practices for GCs and legal teams, current events, legal tech, and more. ## Related Articles ### [Christina Sullivan May 30, 2023 5 min read Benefits of Cloud-Based Legal Software Believe it or not, there was once a time when lawyers through a word processor and fax machine were enough. Spoiler alert: they ... Start Reading](https://blog.linksquares.com/benefits-of-cloud-based-legal-software) ### [LinkSquares Team Aug 01, 2024 13 min read How to Contract: 6 Issues to Address When Evaluating SaaS Contracts Chances are your business already has one (or several) active contracts for software that’s not installed on any of your local ... Start Reading](https://blog.linksquares.com/how-to-contract-6-issues-to-address-when-evaluating-saas-contracts) ### [Juliette Kopecky Mar 09, 2020 4 min read How to Stop Tracking Contract Terms in Excel Every time your legal team produces a new contract, it creates another set of obligations and liabilities into the world on ... Start Reading](https://blog.linksquares.com/how-to-stop-tracking-contract-terms-in-excel) - [Products](https://linksquares.com/products) - [LinkSquares Cloud](https://linksquares.com/products/linksquares-cloud/) - [Prioritize](https://linksquares.com/products/prioritize/) - [Finalize](https://linksquares.com/products/finalize) - [Sign](https://linksquares.com/products/sign) - [Analyze](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze) - [Full Suite](https://linksquares.com/products) - [Integrations](https://linksquares.com/integrations) - [Reporting](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/features/dashboard/) - [API](https://linksquares.com/integrations/linksquares-api/) - [LinkAI](https://linksquares.com/ai/) - [Agentic AI](https://linksquares.com/agentic-ai/) - [Services](https://linksquares.com/services/) - [Solutions](https://linksquares.com/solutions) - [Crisis Management](https://linksquares.com/solutions/crisis-management/) - [Contract Review](https://linksquares.com/solutions/contract-review/) - [Contract Storage](https://linksquares.com/solutions/contract-storage/) - [Data Privacy & Compliance](https://linksquares.com/solutions/data-privacy-compliance/) - [Deal Acceleration](https://linksquares.com/solutions/deal-acceleration/) - [Mergers & Acquisitions](https://linksquares.com/solutions/fundraising-and-ma/) - [Vendor Management](https://linksquares.com/solutions/vendor-management/) - Departments - [Legal](https://linksquares.com/solutions/linksquares-for-legal/) - [Procurement](https://linksquares.com/solutions/linksquares-for-procurement/) - [Sales](https://linksquares.com/solutions/linksquares-for-sales/) - [Resources](https://linksquares.com/library) - [LinkSquares+](https://linksquares.com/plus) - [Blog](https://blog.linksquares.com/) - [Cockpit Counsel](https://linksquares.com/cockpit-counsel-series) - [Customer Stories](https://linksquares.com/customers) - [Demo Library](https://linksquares.com/demo-library) - [Events & Webinars](https://linksquares.com/events) - [In-House Insights](https://linksquares.com/inhouse-insights/) - [Knowledge Base](https://help.linksquares.com/) - [The Library](https://linksquares.com/resources) - Company - [About Us](https://linksquares.com/about-us) - [Careers](https://linksquares.com/careers) - [Contact Us](https://linksquares.com/contact-us/) - [Onboarding](https://linksquares.com/onboarding-services/) - [Partner Program](https://linksquares.com/partners) - [Pricing](https://linksquares.com/pricing/) - [Press](https://blog.linksquares.com/tag/linksquares-news-events) - [Recognition](https://linksquares.com/recognition/) - [Support](mailto:support@linksquares.com) - [Why LinkSquares](https://linksquares.com/why-linksquares/) #### LINKSQUARES, INC. 60 State St. Suite 1200 Boston, MA 02109 [617-681-8552](tel:617-681-8552) [salesinfo@linksquares.com](mailto:salesinfo@linksquares.com) © 2026 LinkSquares, Inc. - [SaaS Terms of Service](https://linksquares.com/saas-terms-of-service/) - [Privacy](https://linksquares.com/privacy-policy/) - [Security](https://linksquares.com/security/) - [Status](https://linksquares.statuspage.io/) - [Your Privacy Choices](https://go.linksquares.com/linksquares-do-not-sell-or-share-personal-data) - ![aicpa soc 2](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/soc2_66933e61%20copy.png?width=100&height=100&name=soc2_66933e61%20copy.png) - ![barr certification](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Frame%201921.png?width=129&height=57&name=Frame%201921.png) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "United States", "addressLocality" : "Boston", "addressRegion" : "MA", "postalCode" : "02109", "streetAddress" : "60 State Street" }, "knowsLanguage" : "en", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://6934676.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6934676/Navigation/logo_643dd1b1.svg" }, "name" : "LinkSquares", "url" : "https://blog.linksquares.com/2016/04/19/cloud-vs-prem-tools-legal-teams" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "abstract" : "Before you go making software decisions, let's talk about the age-old question: on-premise or cloud-based? Trust us; you'll want to go with cloud-based.", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "LinkSquares Team" }, "dateModified" : "2023-07-03T13:00:02Z", "datePublished" : "2023-07-03T13:00:00Z", "headline" : "Cloud vs. On-Prem Tools for Legal Teams", "image" : "https://6934676.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6934676/Copy%20of%20General_Thumbnail%20%282%29-3.png", "inLanguage" : "en", "keywords" : "[In-house Best Practices, Legal Tech & Trends]", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@type" : "WebPage" }, "name" : "Cloud vs. On-Prem Tools for Legal Teams", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://6934676.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6934676/Navigation/logo_643dd1b1.svg" }, "name" : "LinkSquares" }, "text" : "So, you're in the market for some software, eh? Well, before you go making any decisions, let's talk about the age-old question: on-premise or cloud-based? Trust us; you'll want to go with the cloud-based option. Here's why: No extra costs Software as a Service (SaaS) is a very popular delivery and business model for web software. The premise of SaaS is to have access to any browser without any extra software to install locally. In contrast to on-premise software, which has hidden costs in addition to the purchase of the license. Those hidden costs include the purchase of additional hardware to run the software, a dedicated server administrator for maintenance and troubleshooting, and additional upgrades of the software as released by the vendor. High availability Cloud-based software vendors guarantee the availability of the software through their Service Level Agreement. It’s usually a number around 99%. That simply means that throughout the entire year, which is 525,600 minutes, the application will only go down for a total of 87.6 hours, and it’s usually for scheduled maintenance performed off-hours. On-premise software would require your internal IT team to provide and maintain that level of availability for the software to be accessible. Upgrades are rolled in One of the best parts of using a SaaS product is that it is constantly being upgraded. On a typical day, a SaaS provider can do hundreds of upgrades to the product, most of which are transparent to you. Those hundreds of upgrades span the range of bug fixes, new features, and security patches. Your annual contract with a SaaS company has all these fixes and upgrades rolled into the cost so your team gets the highest value. On-premise software must be upgraded manually, usually sold at an extra cost. Ever since 2016, cloud-based software has been the way to go for legal teams and the businesses they power. It's a corporate model that provides the biggest benefit to the customer and the lowest overall cost. To learn more about LinkSquares legal technology, check out our cloud-based, award-winning contract lifecycle management (CLM) solution today.", "url" : "https://blog.linksquares.com/2016/04/19/cloud-vs-prem-tools-legal-teams", "wordCount" : "431" } ```