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October 14, 2026•2 min read

Where Can Sitecore Run? Six Hosting Models, Layer by Layer

SitecoreArchitecture

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Verified October 17, 2026 against Sitecore's and Microsoft's own documentation.

Sitecore in Plain Words, the series:

  1. Sitecore in Plain Words: XM or XP, Where Does It Run, and Who Runs What?
  2. What Is the Difference Between Sitecore XM and XP?
  3. Where Can Sitecore Run? Six Hosting Models, Layer by Layer
  4. Who Looks After What in Each Sitecore Hosting Model?
  5. Why Does Sitecore Need More Than One Server, and What Is Headless?
  6. Will Your Sitecore Version Lose Support, and Should You Upgrade or Migrate?

Six ways, one stack: what changes is who looks after it

Sitecore XM and XP can run on your own servers (on-premises), on Azure virtual machines (IaaS), on Azure App Service (PaaS), in containers on Azure Kubernetes Service, or on Sitecore's Managed Cloud. SitecoreAI is the sixth option: Sitecore's SaaS platform, where Sitecore runs everything. Every model is the same stack of layers, from the data center at the bottom to your content at the top.

Your own servers, or Azure virtual machines

Microsoft's shared responsibility model sets the split for Azure: with virtual machines (IaaS) you manage the VMs, operating system and applications.1 On-premises, every layer is yours.

Layer stack for on-premises: every layer from facilities to content is looked after by you or your IT partner.

Layer stack for Azure IaaS: Microsoft runs facilities and hardware, network is shared, you run the virtual machines, Windows Server, IIS and .NET, SQL Server and Solr, and Sitecore itself.

Azure App Service, or containers on AKS

With App Service (PaaS) Microsoft runs the machines and operating system.1 Sitecore's Azure guide deploys CM and CD as App Service web apps on Azure SQL, with Solr as the only supported search provider.2 With containers, Sitecore publishes the images and you run them.

Layer stack for Azure PaaS: Microsoft runs facilities, App Service plans and the operating system; runtime and databases are shared (Azure SQL by Microsoft, Solr by you); CM and CD each run as an App Service web app that you deploy and upgrade.

Layer stack for containers on Azure Kubernetes Service: Microsoft runs facilities, node pools and operating system are shared, Sitecore publishes the container images, and you run CM and CD as Windows containers plus SQL and Solr.

Managed Cloud: Sitecore runs your Azure setup

Managed Cloud is Sitecore's hosting service for XM and XP on Azure. Sitecore states it "actively monitors, manages, and maintains both the infrastructure and the applications", on App Service (PaaS) or, in the Premium tier only, on Kubernetes. In Premium, upgrade planning and hotfixes are jointly owned with you.3

Layer stack for Sitecore Managed Cloud: Microsoft runs the data centers, Sitecore manages network, servers, runtime, databases and the Sitecore application on Azure, upgrades are jointly planned, and you deploy your own code and content.

SitecoreAI: Sitecore runs every layer

SitecoreAI is Sitecore's name today for its SaaS platform; its content management part, SitecoreAI CMS, was formerly called XM Cloud.4 You own content, components and your front-end app. Part 4 puts all six side by side.

Layer stack for SitecoreAI: Sitecore runs every layer up to and including upgrades; you own content, components and your front-end app.

References

Footnotes

  1. Microsoft Learn. "Shared responsibility in the cloud" ↩ ↩2

  2. Sitecore docs. "Walkthrough: Deploying a new Sitecore environment to the Microsoft Azure App Service" ↩

  3. Sitecore docs. "Introduction to Managed Cloud" and "Managed Cloud PaaS" ↩

  4. Sitecore. "Migrating to SitecoreAI CMS (formerly XM Cloud)" ↩

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