Why this matters
Many AI builders run the tool on the vendor’s own servers. Your data then leaves your perimeter, and the tool runs where you cannot see it. For a company with customer data, regulators or an infosec team, that ends the conversation.
What Substrait does
The whole tool is moved in, not proxied. Substrait runs the front end, the back end and the data inside your cloud account or data centre.
Only instructions cross the boundary. Substrait’s control plane sends policy, connector grants and deployment instructions. Your environment sends back status and decisions only, never data. The link is outbound from your side, so Substrait never opens a connection into your network.
The unmodified tool. Substrait runs the tool your builder produced, as it is.
Your keys. Substrait supports encryption keys that you manage. Each organisation also uses its own AI model key, so your spend and your data terms stay yours.
Four ways to run Substrait
| Setup | Where it runs |
|---|---|
| Substrait’s cloud | Both the control plane and your tools on Substrait’s cloud. The standard setup. |
| Hybrid | The control plane on Substrait’s cloud; your tools and data in your own cloud account |
| Self-hosted | The control plane and your tools both in your environment |
| Air-gapped | Everything in your data centre, with no outbound connection |