Use Cases for MolnOS

MolnOS enables infrastructure patterns that are difficult, expensive, or impossible with traditional cloud providers. By being self-hosted, portable, and owned rather than rented, MolnOS opens up possibilities beyond the hyperscaler paradigm.

Self-Hosted SaaS Applications

Build and deploy complete SaaS applications on infrastructure you control. Use MolnOS as your backend platform—functions for business logic, storage for user files, databases for application state, and IAM for multi-tenant user management.

Why MolnOS fits:

Fixed infrastructure cost regardless of customer count
Complete control over data location and security
No vendor lock-in to proprietary cloud services
Ability to offer sovereign hosting to enterprise customers
Simple pricing model: buy once, scale within your hardware limits

Example architecture: Deploy MolnOS on a dedicated server or VPS. Functions handle your API endpoints, database stores customer data, storage holds user uploads, and IAM manages customer accounts with isolated permissions. Scale vertically by adding resources to your host, or horizontally by running multiple MolnOS instances behind a load balancer.

Edge Computing and IoT

Deploy cloud capabilities at the edge—in factories, retail locations, remote sites, or anywhere you need compute close to data sources. MolnOS’s tiny footprint makes sophisticated infrastructure viable on edge hardware.

Why MolnOS fits:

Runs on ARM devices like Raspberry Pi and industrial edge computers
~430KB size fits even constrained storage environments
No external dependencies means reliable operation in limited connectivity
Local data processing reduces latency and bandwidth requirements
Consistent platform from edge to datacenter

Example scenarios:

Manufacturing: Process sensor data locally with functions, store aggregated metrics in databases, sync to central infrastructure periodically
Retail: Run point-of-sale systems with local state even when internet connectivity fails
Remote monitoring: Collect and process telemetry at remote installations, storing critical data locally with retention policies
Smart buildings: Coordinate IoT devices with local compute, maintaining operation during network outages

Data Sovereignty and Regulatory Compliance

When laws, regulations, or policies require data to stay within specific geographic or jurisdictional boundaries, MolnOS provides genuine control. You choose where it runs and where data resides.

Why MolnOS fits:

Deploy in-country to meet data residency requirements
No data transfer to third-party cloud providers
Complete audit trail of who accesses what
Air-gap capable for classified or sensitive environments
Transparent operation without hidden telemetry

Example scenarios:

Healthcare: Store patient data in-country with full compliance control
Finance: Keep transaction data on-premises as required by banking regulations
Government: Deploy in sovereign data centers without foreign provider dependencies
Legal: Maintain attorney-client privileged data under direct organizational control

Development and Prototyping

Rapidly prototype applications running entirely on your laptop. No cloud accounts, no credit cards, no external runtime dependencies.

Why MolnOS fits:

Install and run in seconds with a single command
Identical environment on development machines and production servers
No cloud costs during development and testing
Complete offline capability for working anywhere
Easy to reset, recreate, or spawn multiple isolated instances

Example workflow: Install MolnOS locally, develop functions in your editor, test with real storage and databases, then deploy the exact same configuration to production. No environmental differences, no “it works in the cloud but not locally” debugging.

Personal and Small Team Infrastructure

Run your own private cloud for personal projects, family services, or small team applications. Host blogs, file storage, automation functions, and databases on hardware you own.

Why MolnOS fits:

Free for personal use; one-time $499 cost for unlimited commercial use
No monthly fees that accumulate over years
Run on existing hardware—old laptops, home servers, NAS devices
Privacy-first with no data leaving your infrastructure
Educational value in understanding cloud primitives

Example deployments:

Personal blog and portfolio with static hosting and dynamic functions
Family photo backup with storage and web interface
Home automation with functions responding to sensors and devices
Small business infrastructure without ongoing cloud costs

Multi-Tenant Platforms

Build platforms where each customer gets their own isolated infrastructure instance. Offer true data isolation and sovereignty as a product feature.

Why MolnOS fits:

Lightweight enough to run one instance per customer
Complete isolation between tenants at the infrastructure level
Ability to offer on-premises deployment to enterprise customers
Simplified compliance when customer data never mixes
Transparent costs—know exactly what each customer instance costs

Example architecture: Enterprise customers get dedicated MolnOS instances in isolated environments or even on their own infrastructure. Each instance has its own IAM, databases, storage, and functions—complete isolation by default. Your platform orchestrates deployment and management while customers get sovereignty guarantees.

Air-Gapped and Disconnected Environments

Deploy cloud capabilities in networks without internet connectivity—classified environments, ships at sea, remote research stations, or anywhere external connectivity is unavailable or prohibited.

Why MolnOS fits:

Zero external dependencies after installation
Complete functionality offline
Small download size for sneakernet distribution
No telemetry or phone-home requirements
Self-contained with all capabilities built-in

Example scenarios:

Military or defense systems requiring air-gap security
Research stations with intermittent satellite connectivity
Maritime vessels with limited or expensive bandwidth
Secure facilities where external network access is prohibited

Testing and CI/CD Pipelines

Spin up complete cloud environments in CI/CD pipelines for integration testing. Test against real services, not mocks, then tear down cleanly.

Why MolnOS fits:

Fast startup for ephemeral test environments
Consistent with production (same platform everywhere)
No cloud API rate limits or costs for test runs
Complete cleanup without orphaned resources
Parallel test runs on CI runners without interference

Example workflow: CI pipeline starts MolnOS instance, runs integration tests against real functions/storage/databases, tears down cleanly. Every pull request gets a complete cloud environment for testing without cloud provider coordination.

Learning and Education

Understand cloud infrastructure by running it yourself. MolnOS is small enough to comprehend but complete enough to build real applications.

Why MolnOS fits:

Students can run locally without cloud accounts
Complete source code available for study
Understandable scale—not thousands of services
Real cloud primitives, not simplified demos
Free for personal/educational use

Example curriculum: Learn serverless architecture by deploying functions, understand object storage internals, explore IAM and RBAC concepts, see how distributed logging works—all running on student laptops with no cloud costs.

Hybrid Cloud Architectures

Use MolnOS as an on-premises component in hybrid architectures. Process sensitive data locally while integrating with cloud services for appropriate workloads.

Why MolnOS fits:

Standard HTTP APIs for easy integration
Deploy anywhere to meet specific data locality needs
Consistent platform across cloud and on-premises
Gradual migration path (start on-premises, selectively move to cloud)
Cost optimization by keeping high-frequency data local

Example architecture: Sensitive customer data stays in MolnOS on-premises, while public-facing web assets use a CDN, and analytics aggregate to a cloud data warehouse. Each component runs where it makes most sense technically and economically.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Run MolnOS as a backup infrastructure that’s completely independent of your primary cloud provider. Maintain capability to operate even if primary provider fails.

Why MolnOS fits:

Independent of any cloud provider
Can run on commodity hardware
Portable to different environments quickly
No external dependencies in crisis scenarios
Known fixed cost for disaster recovery capacity

Example strategy: Primary application on hyperscaler, MolnOS instance ready on-premises or at backup datacenter. In disaster scenario, redirect traffic to backup MolnOS infrastructure with recent data snapshots. Resume operations while primary provider recovers.

Microservices Development

Develop and test microservices locally with real service discovery, databases, storage, and observability—without running containers or complex local Kubernetes.

Why MolnOS fits:

Integrated logging across all functions
Realistic permission boundaries for testing
Fast iteration without container rebuilds
Development experience matches production

Example workflow: Deploy multiple functions representing different microservices, configure IAM permissions between them, use databases for state, storage for artifacts, and observability to trace requests across service boundaries. All running locally with production-grade primitives.

When MolnOS Makes Sense

MolnOS is particularly valuable when you need:

Fixed, predictable infrastructure costs rather than consumption-based pricing
Complete control over data location and access
Independence from cloud providers for business or technical reasons
Portability across diverse environments from laptops to servers to edge devices
Simplicity over infinite scale—you need cloud primitives, not thousands of services
Rapid iteration without cloud account setup and API coordination
Privacy and security without third-party data processors
Edge deployment where traditional clouds don’t reach

When to Choose Something Else

MolnOS may not be the right choice when you need:

Global CDN and edge network with hundreds of points of presence
Managed machine learning services and GPU compute
Unlimited scale with automatic global distribution
Specialized managed services (managed Kubernetes, serverless databases, etc.)
Enterprise support contracts with SLAs and incident response
Compliance certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001) inherited from provider

In these cases, hyperscalers or specialized PaaS providers offer capabilities MolnOS intentionally doesn’t include.

Getting Started with Your Use Case

Each use case has unique requirements, but the starting point is the same:

Install MolnOS on appropriate hardware for your scenario
Configure IAM with users, service accounts, and roles matching your needs
Deploy functions for business logic and API endpoints
Set up storage for files, uploads, or static assets
Create databases for application state
Configure logging to track operations and debug issues

From there, the specifics depend on your use case—but the primitives remain consistent.

Ready to compare how MolnOS stacks up against alternatives? See the Comparison page for detailed analysis.