A practical comparison for enterprise decision-makers. The point is not “no cloud.” The point is control.
| Category | Cloud-only AI | Private AI (owned) |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Rented infrastructure | Owned asset |
| Data boundary | External | Internal |
| Model control | Vendor-dependent | You choose and govern |
| Experiment cost | Metered | Near-zero marginal cost |
| Procurement | Ongoing approvals | One-time purchase |
| Lock-in risk | Higher | Lower |
| Best use | Burst/global inference; targeted training | Sensitive development; governed operations |
ICCN view: Develop privately, use cloud selectively where it adds value, and deploy based on the risk and latency profile of the workload.