Artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services promise increased efficiency and innovation - but many companies are in for a nasty surprise: the costs are exploding. According to recent studies, more than 90% of companies exceed their planned cloud budget, primarily due to the use of AI solutions. The average budget overrun is just under 50%, with generative AI and automation being the biggest cost drivers. But there are alternatives: With lalamo.cloud, companies can use AI efficiently, in compliance with data protection regulations and cost-effectively - without hidden fees or incalculable risks.
The AI cost trap: why cloud solutions are often more expensive than planned
The cloud was once the saviour of flexible and scalable IT infrastructures. But the reality today is very different: Many companies are struggling with unexpected cost increases, complex pricing models and hidden fees. The use of AI in particular - whether for chatbots, data analysis or automation - is driving up expenditure. Almost every second company estimates that the costs of generative AI are no longer manageable. Added to this are challenges such as data loss, security risks and dependence on international cloud providers that often use non-transparent billing models.
One well-known example is the US company 37signals, which saves two million US dollars a year by withdrawing from the cloud and moving to its own data centre. However, not every company can or wants to take this step. This is where lalamo.cloud comes in: as a local, self-hosted alternative that makes AI solutions efficient and cost-transparent.
The hidden costs of cloud AI
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Incalculable operating costs: Cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud not only charge according to usage, but also for support, data traffic and unused resources. These items quickly add up, especially for AI workloads such as large language models (LLMs).
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Data protection and compliance: Many companies, especially in Europe, shy away from dependence on US cloud providers. Regulatory requirements and security concerns mean that sensitive data prefers to be hosted locally. lalamo.cloud offers a data protection-compliant solution here: AI models such as Llama, Gemma or Mistral are operated directly on the customer's premises - without any data flowing abroad.
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Performance problems with AI applications: Real-time applications or data-intensive AI workloads often suffer from latency or unpredictable costs in the cloud. On-premise solutions such as lalamo.cloud, on the other hand, enable stable performance and full control over the infrastructure.
lalamo.cloud: AI without breaking the budget
With lalamo.cloud, companies can rely on a self-hosted AI solution that has been specially developed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The advantages at a glance:
- Cost transparency: no hidden fees, no surprise bills. The investment in local hardware is quickly amortised - especially with long-term use.
- Resource efficiency: The use of small, optimised LLMs minimises energy and computing requirements. This not only protects the budget, but also the environment.
- Flexibility & customisability: The models are individually adapted to the needs of the company (fine-tuning) so that only the resources that are actually required are used.
- Data sovereignty: All data remains in the company's own data centre. This is a decisive advantage, especially for industries with high compliance requirements - such as healthcare or financial services.
Success stories from practice:
- AD ACTA Gutachten GmbH automates company valuations and saves time and costs.
- Holzbau Hennrich GmbH informs customers in advance via chatbot, which relieves employees and increases customer satisfaction.
- City of Radebeul: The Saxon city uses an egocms/lalamo.cloud chatbot to provide citizens with quick and uncomplicated information on opening hours, applications and local services. The solution runs on local infrastructure, saves cloud costs and guarantees maximum data security - a prime example of digital administration without budget risk. "The chatbot relieves our employees and offers citizens round-the-clock support - without any expensive cloud subscriptions."
Conclusion: AI doesn't have to be expensive
The cloud still makes sense for many applications - but when it comes to AI, it's worth taking a closer look at the alternatives. lalamo.cloud shows that self-hosted AI solutions can not only be more cost-effective, but also more sustainable and secure. Companies that want to keep their AI budgets under control should check which workloads can be operated locally. Because in the end, it's not just the technology that counts, but also the cost-effectiveness.
Your next steps with EGOTEC
Would you like to know how lalamo.cloud can reduce your AI costs and optimise your processes?
Contact our EGOCMS/lalamo.cloud team for a personalised consultation and a non-binding quote.
Our team will work with you to analyse how you can use AI efficiently, securely and cost-effectively in your organisation - from the initial idea through to implementation.