Local LLMs for SMEs: what you actually gain by ditching the cloud

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Why this matters at all

Most companies using public LLM APIs never stop to think where their prompts end up. They land on the provider's servers, along with the contents of documents, emails, and customer data pasted into the prompt.

What a local model changes

• Data never leaves the company's infrastructure
• Cost is fixed, independent of query volume
• The model can be tuned for a specific process instead of being a generic chat

Companies shouldn't have to trade their privacy for intelligence.

When it makes sense

Mainly where the data is sensitive (contracts, customer data, internal documentation), or where query volume is high enough that a cloud token bill becomes unpredictable.