Written by
Dorina Anton
, Marketing Specialist
Are you looking for a flexible and scalable open-source wiki platform?
Do you want the freedom to choose where you host your wiki instance?
XWiki is a free, open-source software platform available for download at xwiki.org, offering extensive customization options, collaborative editing, document management, and granular rights management. As one of the most versatile knowledge management and collaboration software solutions, XWiki empowers individuals and companies to create, organize, and share knowledge effectively.
XWiki SAS, the leading sponsor of the XWiki open-source project, has been driving its development for the last 20 years. We have made this commitment because we believe in offering complete freedom when it comes to deciding where you host your software. This ensures that you can easily move or update your deployment whenever needed and still benefit from the same professional services regardless of your deployment.
In this article, we will explore XWiki's cloud and on-premises deployment options, each tailored to meet different organizational needs. Whether you seek a hassle-free, scalable cloud solution or require complete control and customization with on-premises deployment, our support packages offer equivalent options for both deployment methods. Continue reading to find out what option best suits your organization. 👇
XWiki Cloud hosting
This is our most convenient and easy to scale XWiki hosting solution. It allows you to focus on your content, collaboration, and most valuable work, while the XWiki SAS team takes care of the setup, upgrades, maintenance, security fixes, and backups.
Your cloud instance is hosted in France with OVHcloud. Our partnership with OVHcloud is long-standing, and we are proud to have a strong foundation with a highly reputable cloud provider known for its robust security and quality services. OVHcloud holds internationally recognized certifications, including ISO/IEC 27001 for the protection of personal data and SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3 for service organization controls. These certifications ensure that your data is protected with the highest standards of security and reliability.
Why choose XWiki Cloud hosting? 🤔
- #1 Hassle-free deployment so you get started easily
- #2 Easily scale your resources as your team and content grow
- #3 Expert support on your instance
- #4 Regular updates, automated backups & security fixes
- #5 No vendor lock-in
- #6 Upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time
- #7 Choose from multiple periods of engagement (1, 3, 6 or 12 months), with automatic or manual renewal
Besides all these benefits that come with opting for XWiki Cloud, you can also choose additional professional services based on your particular needs such as: installation and configuration, training built specifically for your various types of users, consulting, proof of concept, custom development, data import, and design for your custom instance.
On-premises deployment
In some instances, cloud hosting may not be the right fit for your organization whether because of regulatory requirements, the need for utmost data security and control, precise configurations, or extensive customizations. But, rest assured, you can host XWiki on your own servers or any hosting provider of your choice and still benefit from the same functionalities and technical support from our XWiki SAS Support team. See the table below for a comparison of hosting types and their support levels.
Why choose support for on-premises hosting? 🧐
When using a self-hosted XWiki instance, you might encounter the need for support for simple or complex configuration issues or encounter a bug and seek solutions. In such cases, multiple support options are available:
- The XWiki Community Forum where you can write about your case and receive timely answers
- Long-term technical support available at 3 different levels (see table below for details on the support plans)
- Professional services where our teams of specialists will help you with:
- Installation and configuration matters
- Training built specifically for your various types of users
- Services for custom instances such as consulting, proof of concept, custom development, data import, and design
What are the Pro Applications? 👀
The XWiki community excels at creating and maintaining widely used applications. However, some applications require guaranteed performance and ongoing development tailored to business needs.
That is why we introduced the XWiki SAS Pro Applications. These extensions, developed by the XWiki SAS Pro Apps team, address the specific needs of our clients and community. They include the most important applications required when running XWiki in a production environment, such as intranets, knowledge bases, procedures management wikis, documentation networks, or even public websites.
The Pro Applications are specifically designed and perfected to meet business needs, streamline your team's work, and ensure the best quality of our extensions at all times. The applications are included in the XWiki Pro package, available both on:
- XWiki Cloud (Basic/Business/Enterprise)
- And on premises (XWiki Basic/Business/Enterprise and Confluence Migration Toolkit Business/Enterprise)
Based from our many years of experience assisting clients with their on-premises deployments, here are a few successful implementations of XWiki that you can draw inspiration from:
- University of Lorraine: Migrated from Confluence to XWiki which significantly improved their intranet capabilities, providing enhanced data and hosting control, increased flexibility, customization, and full alignment with their academic and administrative needs.
- HLS (The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland): Migrated content from a PHP platform to XWiki and developed a sophisticated CMS with custom workflows and a beautiful, user-friendly public website.
- KIT (The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology): Transitioned from Confluence to XWiki with a 10-month project that included consulting, planning, migration, and customization, resulting in a tailored intranet and documentation system.
Cloud or on-premises deployment — which to pick?
Choosing between cloud and on-premises depends on various factors, including your organization's specific needs, data security requirements, and scalability preferences. Consider the following:
Criteria | XWiki Cloud | XWiki on-premises |
Setup | Quick and hassle-free setup and usage | Requires technical knowledge for manual setup and configuration |
| Maintenance | Managed by the XWiki SAS team (automatic updates, backups, security patches etc.) | Managed by your own IT team |
| Cost structure | Subscription model with predictable costs | Potentially higher upfront costs (hardware, software) |
| Scalability | Easily scalable as needs grow
| Depends on in-house infrastructure and resources |
| Use cases | Any use case | Any use case |
| Data sovereignty | Data stored in OVH cloud servers | Complete control over data location & compliance |
| Vendor lock-in | Never | Never |
| Initial investment | Lower initial investment | Higher initial investment for infrastructure |
| Pro Apps | All Pro Apps are included starting with the Basic level (except Confluence Migration tools, available starting with Confluence Migration Toolkit or the Business level) | Possibility to purchase individual Pro Apps* or XWiki Pro starting with the Basic level, or Confluence Migration Toolkit starting with the Business level *By purchasing individual Pro Apps you benefit from technical support only on the app/s. |
| Customizations | You can customize your instance at any level (changing look & feel, editing options etc.). Professional consulting and custom development services available for support contract at Business or Enterprise level (custom-made instances require a high level of effort when providing long-term technical support). | |
XWiki is a flexible and scalable open-source wiki platform, ideal for various organizational needs. With the freedom to decide between cloud and on-premises hosting, you can tailor your deployment to fit your specific requirements, ensuring seamless collaboration, and efficient knowledge management. Whether you opt for the convenience of XWiki Cloud or the control of on-premises hosting, you will always benefit from robust features, expert support, and continuous updates without vendor lock-in.
