Dispelling the Myth 1) On-Premise is Dying

Cloud video conferencing services have taken over the headlines. They’re quick and easy to activate (just sign-up), offer a wide range of features, and generally deliver a high quality video conferencing experience.

However, cloud video platforms introduce a wide range of privacy, security, customization, and control compromises. For some organizations and users, these compromises are acceptable. For others, they’re absolute deal breakers.

Where do businesses who need absolute control of their security, their data, and their experience turn? The same place they’ve gone to for decades … on-premise (a.k.a. self-hosted) video conferencing platforms.

The Source of the Myth

Like every other for-profit company, cloud video conferencing providers want to add customers, increase their user base, and generate additional revenue. And large organizations or agencies using self-hosted video platforms represent a massive opportunity.

So … what do they do? They float the notion that on-premises video conferencing is dead – or at least dying, and that ‘wise’ organizations have already started shifting their calling to the cloud.

To be fair, you can’t blame the cloud providers for trying to land new customers. After all, they have managers, shareholders, and investors seeking ongoing growth.

But there’s fact … and there’s fiction.

The fiction is that on-premises / self-hosted video conferencing is dying or dead.

The fact is quite different.

Self-Hosted Video Conferencing is Actually Dominant

Market data shows that self-hosted video conferencing is NOT dying. In fact, self-hosted video conferencing is the dominant architecture for video conferencing.

According to a Report from Imarc Group covering 2025 – 2033, on-premises video conferencing has a 58.7% share of the video conferencing infrastructure market.

Specifically, Imarc notes that “on-premises systems continue to be favored by businesses that prioritize security, control, and long-term cost efficiency.”

Similarly, a Grandview Report covering 2023 – 2030 states that “On-premise was the largest segment with a revenue share of 57.7% in 2023.”

The bottom line is that organizations around the world invest in, use, and depend on their self-hosted video conferencing platforms.

Cisco’s on-premise stance

Maybe you don’t believe the market data. After all, data may be wrong.

Perhaps you don’t believe us either. After all, we’re selling something too. We offer the leading, Cisco-recommended and approved solution for delivering secure, high-quality, self-hosted unified communications services and managing on-premise video devices.

But would you take Cisco’s word for it?

Cisco continues to invest in and innovate its on-premise video conferencing platform, Cisco Meeting Server (CMS).

For example, in February 2025, Cisco released CMS version 3.10.2, bringing many new features such as:

• Enhanced audio quality for shared content
• Support for AV1 codec for improved video performance
• TLS 1.3 integration for enhanced security
• Additional API enhancements for better participant control during meetings

Cisco offers support for up to 24 call bridges per cluster, allowing CMS to support up to 2,600 concurrent HD calls across multiple geographical points of presence.

Other recent innovations include intelligent load balancing and resource allocation to optimize distributed deployments, and a Smart Licensing program to simplify license management and reporting for CMS deployments.

In the last two years, Cisco has reduced spending and headcount. However, the company continues to invest in Cisco CMS. This alone demonstrates the strategic importance of on-premises video conferencing to Cisco.

Self-Hosted Video Conferencing is NOT Dying – the myth has been debunked

Hyperbole and exaggeration aside, the fact is that on-premise / self-hosted video conferencing is the leading approach used to host video conferences today. There is as much innovation in on-premise as there is with cloud conferencing and this shows no signs of changing.

And Cisco, the market leader in video conferencing system sales and the company behind the Webex cloud platform, continues to invest in Cisco Meeting Server, the company’s on-premise video conferencing platform.

Anyone who says otherwise is probably trying to sell you something (e.g., a cloud video calling service).

Just because on-premise existed first doesn’t mean that it’s fallen behind or is on the way out, it’s much more about what offering works best for a business’ requirements. On-premise continues to be the chosen solution for organizations looking for secure, self-hosted video conferencing.

Learn more from the VQ team about the key differences and benefits between on-premise and cloud conferencing