offprem

Offprem, short for off-premises, is a term used in information technology to describe resources, services, or deployments located outside an organization's own premises. It typically refers to cloud-based or outsourced infrastructure and applications, as well as data storage facilities operated by third parties such as public cloud providers, colocation facilities, or managed service providers. The opposite is on-premises, where hardware and software run within the organization's own facilities and networks. In practice, offprem encompasses software as a service (SaaS), platforms (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS), as well as disaster recovery sites and backup storage that reside outside the corporate campus.

In enterprise IT, decisions about offprem involve considerations of control, security, compliance, latency, and cost. Off-prem deployments can offer scalable resources, reduced capital expenditure, and geographic redundancy, but they may raise concerns about data residency, data privacy, access controls, and dependence on third-party providers. Security practices commonly applied to offprem include encryption in transit and at rest, strict identity and access management, regular audits, and well-defined data governance and incident response procedures. Vendors typically provide SLAs covering availability, performance, and data handling.

The term offprem appears in vendor documentation, architecture diagrams, and IT policy discussions, often as shorthand for 'off-premises' or 'offsite' resources. It is not a formal standard, and its exact meaning can vary by organization, context, and geography. Related concepts include cloud computing, hybrid cloud, and managed hosting.