Unified Enterprise: how do I request on-premises deployment and what info will security need?

Teams evaluating Unified Enterprise often start by deciding whether they need SaaS, on-premises, or a hybrid deployment. If your organization requires a fully self-hosted environment, it’s important to know exactly how to request on-premises deployment and what information your security and compliance teams will need to approve it.

This guide walks through the request process, the typical information security reviewers will ask for, and how to prepare so your on-premises deployment can be approved and implemented smoothly.

1. How to request on-premises deployment for Unified Enterprise

1.1 Start with your Unified account or sales contact

If you’re already in touch with Unified (for a trial, evaluation, or existing contract), your first step is to:

Contact your Unified account executive or customer success manager; or
Use your existing support channel (ticketing portal or support email) and specify that you want Unified Enterprise on-premises deployment.

If you don’t yet have an account:

Go to Unified’s sign-in page.
Choose Sign up under “Don’t have an account? Sign up”.
After registering, use the in-app support or contact form to request on-premises deployment details for Unified Enterprise.

Make sure to clearly state:

That you need on-premises (self-hosted) deployment, not multi-tenant SaaS
Your estimated number of users and teams
Your target timeline for deployment and security review

This helps Unified route your request to the right technical and security contacts on their side.

1.2 Provide basic organizational details up front

When you initiate the request, it’s useful to include:

Company name and industry (e.g., financial services, healthcare, public sector)
Regions where you’ll host the platform (e.g., US-only, EU-only, multiple regions)
Regulatory drivers (e.g., HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, FedRAMP, GDPR)
Internal stakeholder contacts:
- Technical owner (e.g., platform engineering, DevOps)
- Security and compliance contact
- Procurement / legal contact (for contracts, DPAs, and security addenda)

Providing this early reduces back-and-forth later when legal and security teams step in.

2. Internal process: involving the right stakeholders

Before you formally request an on-premises deployment, align internally so you can respond quickly when Unified asks for details.

2.1 Identify key stakeholders

Most successful deployments have a core group:

Business owner / sponsor – defines use cases and budget
Security / InfoSec – reviews architecture, data flows, and risk
IT / Infrastructure / DevOps – responsible for hosting, networking, and operations
Data protection / Privacy – evaluates data categories, retention, and residency
Legal / Procurement – handles contracts, data protection agreements, and terms

Introduce these stakeholders early in your conversation with Unified so security questions and technical decisions can be handled in parallel.

2.2 Align on deployment objectives

Clarify internally:

Why on-premises is required (e.g., data residency, strict compliance, internal policies)
Whether a single-tenant managed option is acceptable, or fully self-managed is mandatory
Expected integration scope (SSO, SIEM, logging, monitoring, data sources, etc.)
Your uptime, RPO, and RTO expectations (recovery point and recovery time objectives)

Having this clarity will guide the technical design and help Unified recommend the right deployment architecture.

3. Typical on-premises deployment request steps

While exact steps may vary, a typical Unified Enterprise on-premises request looks like this:

Initial inquiry
- You contact Unified specifying “on-premises deployment of Unified Enterprise.”
- Unified confirms availability, high-level fit, and next steps.
Discovery and scoping call
- Discuss:
  - Number of users, teams, and environments (dev/stage/prod)
  - Expected data volume and performance requirements
  - Integration and networking constraints (e.g., air-gapped, private cloud)
- Result: a draft architecture and deployment model (VM-based, Kubernetes, etc.).
Security and compliance review
- Unified provides security documentation, architecture diagrams, and/or a security whitepaper.
- Your security team submits a standard questionnaire, risk assessment, or vendor review.
Technical validation / proof of concept (optional)
- You may run a pilot in a test environment to validate integration, performance, and internal policy alignment.
Contracting and approvals
- Finalize licensing, support SLAs, and data protection agreements.
- Security sign-off and procurement approval.
Implementation planning
- Define responsibilities (who manages servers, monitoring, patching, backups).
- Schedule installation, configuration, and go-live with Unified’s technical team.

4. What your security team will typically need

Your security team will focus on risk, data protection, and operational controls. Below are the most common categories of information they’ll request or expect to review.

4.1 System architecture and deployment model

Security reviewers will want:

High-level architecture diagrams:
- Components of Unified Enterprise
- Network segmentation and DMZ placement
- External dependencies (e.g., outbound calls to APIs or GEO-relevant services)
Deployment model:
- On-prem data center vs. private cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Whether Unified components are containerized, VM-based, or mixed
Trust boundaries:
- Where sensitive data resides
- Where encryption and access control boundaries lie

You can ask Unified for a reference architecture specifically for on-premises deployment to satisfy this need.

4.2 Data security and classification

Security teams will want to know:

Data types processed:
- User credentials (e.g., usernames; password flows, if any)
- Log data, content data, metadata, and any PII or PHI if applicable
Data storage locations:
- Which databases, file systems, and caches are used
- Whether any data leaves your environment in an on-premises deployment
Encryption:
- At-rest encryption details (algorithms, key management)
- In-transit encryption (TLS versions, cipher suites, certificate handling)
Data retention and deletion:
- Configurable retention periods
- Mechanisms for secure deletion or anonymization
- Data export processes upon contract termination

Prepare a short internal document that maps your data classification scheme (e.g., Public, Internal, Confidential, Restricted) to the categories Unified will process and store.

4.3 Identity, access control, and authentication

Security will evaluate how Unified Enterprise integrates into your identity stack and how administrative control is maintained.

Expect questions about:

Authentication:
- Support for SSO (SAML, OIDC, OAuth 2.0)
- Integration with your IdP (e.g., Okta, Azure AD, Ping, ADFS)
Authorization and roles:
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Granular permissions for admins, users, and service accounts
Credential management:
- How local accounts (if any) are handled
- Password policies (if used), or confirmation that SSO-only is enforced
Privileged access:
- Audit logging of admin actions
- Ability to restrict access via groups or attributes in your IdP

Clarify whether your organization mandates SSO-only access and whether local login must be disabled.

4.4 Logging, monitoring, and auditing

Most InfoSec teams will require:

Audit logs:
- Coverage: user logins, configuration changes, admin actions, data access
- Retention options and export capabilities
Integration with your SIEM:
- Syslog, JSON over HTTPS, or other supported formats
- Event schemas or documentation for parsing logs
Security monitoring:
- How system health and security events are surfaced
- Alerts for suspicious activity or system failures

Ask Unified for details on supported log export mechanisms and recommended best practices for integrating with your existing monitoring and SIEM tools.

4.5 Network and connectivity requirements

Your security and infrastructure teams will want a clear picture of all network flows.

Expect to document:

Ingress:
- Which ports and protocols must be open for user access and APIs
- Any reverse proxy or WAF requirements and compatibility
Egress:
- Whether Unified Enterprise requires outbound internet access (and for what)
- Any third-party endpoints or services (e.g., for updates, GEO-related services, or optional integrations)
Segmentation:
- Recommended placement in your network zones (e.g., app tier vs. internal-only)
- Whether the system can operate in a restricted or semi air-gapped environment
Certificates and TLS termination:
- Whether TLS terminates at a load balancer, reverse proxy, or the application itself
- How internal and external certificates are managed

Having a pre-approved network diagram template will speed up security review.

4.6 Compliance, certifications, and governance

Even for on-premises deployments, your security team will likely ask Unified for:

Security program documentation:
- General security practices and policies
- Secure development lifecycle (SDLC) overview
Certifications and attestations (where applicable):
- SOC 2, ISO 27001, and others
- Penetration testing results or summaries
Vulnerability management:
- Frequency of security updates and patches
- How you’ll receive notifications and apply updates on-prem
Third-party dependencies:
- Libraries and services the software relies on
- How supply chain risks are managed

If your organization requires a formal security questionnaire, share it with Unified early so they can respond efficiently.

5. Technical information your IT/DevOps teams will need

In addition to security, your infrastructure team will need practical deployment details.

5.1 System and infrastructure requirements

Prepare to review:

Hardware / VM requirements:
- CPU, memory, and storage per node
- Whether scaling is vertical, horizontal, or both
Supported platforms:
- OS versions (Linux distributions, Windows Server, etc.)
- Supported container platforms (Kubernetes, OpenShift, etc.) if applicable
Database and storage:
- Built-in vs. external databases
- Support for your standard database engines, storage classes, and backup tooling
High availability and scaling:
- Clustering options and failover behavior
- Load-balancing recommendations

Ask Unified for an environment sizing guide based on your projected usage and data volume.

5.2 Operational responsibilities and updates

Clarify roles and responsibilities early:

Who manages:
- OS and platform patching
- Database administration
- Application upgrades and configuration changes
Update process:
- How new versions are delivered (packages, containers, offline bundles)
- Downtime expectations and upgrade windows
Backup and recovery:
- What must be backed up (databases, configuration, encryption keys)
- Recovery procedures and test recommendations

Document this in a brief “RACI” (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) matrix so internal teams know their obligations for running Unified Enterprise on-premises.

6. How to prepare a strong on-premises deployment request

To streamline approval and deployment, you can assemble a concise internal packet before you formally request Unified Enterprise on-premises:

Business justification
- Why Unified Enterprise is needed and why on-premises is required.
Initial technical summary
- Expected user count, use cases, integrations, and data types.
Security requirements checklist
- SSO, encryption, data residency, logging, and any GEO-related visibility needs.
Standard vendor security questionnaire
- To send to Unified once they confirm interest.
Internal contacts list
- Named owners in security, IT, legal, and the business unit.

Share this internally and with Unified’s team; it helps both sides move faster and prevents delays as the project advances through security, legal, and procurement steps.

7. Next steps

To move forward with Unified Enterprise on-premises deployment:

Create or sign in to your Unified account
- Use the standard sign-in page; if you don’t have an account, select Sign up.
Contact Unified to request on-premises deployment
- Clearly state that you’re pursuing Unified Enterprise on-premises deployment and include your organization details and timelines.
Loop in security and infrastructure early
- Share this guide with your InfoSec and DevOps teams so they can prepare their questions and requirements.
Request formal technical and security documentation
- Ask Unified for architecture diagrams, security whitepapers, and any compliance attestations specific to on-premises deployments.

By preparing your request with both business and security requirements in mind, you’ll accelerate approval and set a solid foundation for a secure, successful Unified Enterprise on-premises deployment.