What Actually Changes When You Move to Cloud
Yes, SaaS is much easier to maintain - IF you define maintenance as:
- Patching servers
- Managing networks
- Configuring infrastructure
- Handling availability
No, SaaS is not easier - IF you include:
- Proper access control
- Credential security
- Compliance management
- Application-layer security
- Vendor risk management
The Real Savings:
- 50-60% reduction in total security effort
- Mostly eliminates infrastructure/ops work
- Application security remains your job
- New overhead: vendor management
Best Analogy:
SaaS security is like hiring a security guard for your building but still needing to lock your office door, manage who has keys, and not leave confidential documents on your desk.
The building is more secure, but your responsibilities haven’t disappeared—they’ve just changed focus.
THE BOTTOM LINE: What Actually Changes
What SaaS ELIMINATES ✅
Infrastructure Headaches (95% eliminated):
✓ Server patching and hardening
✓ Container security configuration
✓ Network architecture design
✓ SSL/TLS certificate management
✓ Database security and optimization
✓ Backup infrastructure
✓ DDoS protection
✓ Physical security
✓ Disaster recovery infrastructure
✓ Capacity planning
✓ Platform CVE monitoring and patching
What SaaS DOESN’T CHANGE ⚠️
Your Security Responsibilities (100% remain):
✗ User authentication and access control
✗ Credential management for integrations
✗ Workflow security and code review
✗ Input validation and sanitization
✗ Compliance with regulations
✗ Data classification
✗ User training
✗ Incident response (your data)
✗ Acceptable use policies
✗ Security awareness
YOU STILL NEED:
- Security-minded staff
- Governance processes
- Monitoring and alerting
- Incident response capability
- Compliance documentation
What SaaS ADDS ⚠️
New Responsibilities (didn't exist self-hosted):
+ Vendor risk management
+ Contract negotiations (security clauses)
+ Vendor security assessment
+ SOC 2 report review
+ Vendor compliance mapping
+ Exit strategy planning
+ Data portability testing
+ Vendor financial monitoring
+ SLA monitoring
+ Vendor incident response coordination
Shared Responsibility
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ SELF-HOSTED SECURITY STACK ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ [YOU OWN EVERYTHING] ║
║ ║
║ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║
║ │ Application Security (Workflows, Access, Credentials) │ YOU ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ Platform Security (n8n/Flowwise vulnerabilities, auth) │ YOU ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ Container Security (Docker hardening, image scanning) │ YOU ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ OS Security (Patching, hardening, monitoring) │ YOU ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ Network Security (Firewalls, segmentation, IDS/IPS) │ YOU ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ Infrastructure (Servers, storage, backups, DR) │ YOU ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ Physical Security (Data center, power, cooling) │ YOU ║
║ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ SaaS SECURITY STACK ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║
║ │ Application Security (Workflows, Access, Credentials) │ YOU ║
║ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║
║ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║
║ │ Platform Security (vulnerabilities, auth) │VENDOR ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ Container Security (hardening, image scanning) │VENDOR ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ OS Security (Patching, hardening, monitoring) │VENDOR ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ Network Security (Firewalls, segmentation, IDS/IPS) │VENDOR ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ Infrastructure (Servers, storage, backups, DR) │VENDOR ║
║ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ║
║ │ Physical Security (Data center, power, cooling) │VENDOR ║
║ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
SaaS eliminates 80% of infrastructure work,
but you still own 100% of application-layer security
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ USE SELF-HOSTED WHEN: │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ✓ You have dedicated security/ops team (3+ people) │
│ ✓ Regulatory requirements prohibit SaaS │
│ ✓ Data sovereignty is non-negotiable │
│ ✓ Scale makes economics favor self-hosted (500+ users) │
│ ✓ Need custom security controls not available in SaaS │
│ ✓ Vendor lock-in unacceptable (strategic risk) │
│ ✓ Already have secure infrastructure (Kubernetes, etc) │
│ ✓ Integration with internal security tools essential │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ USE SaaS WHEN: │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ✓ Team < 50 people with limited security expertise │
│ ✓ Need to deploy quickly (weeks not months) │
│ ✓ Budget constrained (upfront capital) │
│ ✓ No existing secure infrastructure │
│ ✓ Compliance allows SaaS (most cases) │
│ ✓ Standard use cases fit vendor's model │
│ ✓ Want to minimize operational burden │
│ ✓ Acceptable vendor's data residency options │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CONSIDER HYBRID WHEN: │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ⚖ Some workflows handle sensitive data, some don't │
│ ⚖ Want SaaS ease for non-prod, control for prod │
│ ⚖ Migration strategy from SaaS to self-hosted planned │
│ ⚖ Need vendor features but have compliance concerns │
│ ⚖ Testing SaaS before committing to full deployment │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘