Blog · 13 October 2026 · 6 min read
Local AI: what happens if you change supplier
You buy a local AI to keep your data in-house. It would make little sense to then find yourself tied for life to whoever installed it. Here is how to tell, before signing, whether the system will really be yours.
In short: if the installation is done properly, changing supplier changes nothing: the system keeps working and another company can take over its management. For that to be the case, four conditions are needed: widely used open-source software, no licence and no service that goes through the supplier's servers, administrator credentials in your hands from day one and written handover documentation. These are things to get put in writing in the quote.
Is the system mine or the installer's?
It is yours, if it is built with programs that do not belong to the supplier. A typical local AI is made of a few parts, all public:
- Ollama, the engine that runs the models: it is open source under the MIT licence, one of the most permissive.
- Open WebUI, the chat interface with the accounts, the document archive and the assistants: it is free for business use too.
- The models, downloaded from public catalogues and saved on your disk.
- The operating system's features for disk encryption and backup.
These are tools that anyone who does this job knows. None of them requires a subscription to the supplier to keep working, and models run locally send neither questions nor documents outside.
You buy the hardware and it remains your property: it is a separate line in the quote, as we explain in the cost guide.
What happens if the working relationship ends?
The system keeps working as it did the day before. Chat, models and document archive run on your machine and do not depend on any connection to whoever installed them.
What stops is the work done by people: the periodic updates, the checks, the help when something gets stuck. These are activities you can entrust to another supplier or to an in-house technician. Support is a choice, not a condition for using the system.
To really end the relationship, two actions are enough: disabling the supplier's access and changing the administrator passwords. From that point on nobody, apart from you, can get in.
Please note: if the project includes remote monitoring that raises an alert when the AI stops responding, ask what is sent and to whom. It should be a simple "system is on" signal, with no content, and it must be possible to switch it off without consequences.
Who holds the passwords and credentials?
You, from day one. This is the point that more than any other separates a system that is yours from a rented one.
- The computer's administrator account is in the company's name, not the supplier's.
- The administrator account of the chat interface is yours: from there users are created, permissions are assigned and you decide who sees which documents.
- The supplier works with a separate access, in its own name, which stays switched off and which you turn on when an intervention is needed.
- The encryption and recovery keys for the disk and the backups are kept by you, in a safe place.
Also ask that everything that has been built can be taken away with you. In Open WebUI, conversations and custom assistants can be exported to files that another installation can read back.
And the programs written by the supplier?
They should be few, readable and not indispensable. Almost every installation includes a few small connecting programs: a script that checks that the AI is responding, one that frees up unused memory, a configuration that keeps the folders in sync.
It is fine, on three conditions:
- The code stays on your machine, in readable form, and is handed over to you.
- Another technician can modify or delete it without asking anyone's permission.
- The heart of the system works without it too: chat, models and archive must not depend on a component that only the supplier knows how to manage.
Be wary, on the other hand, of a "proprietary" interface built by the supplier in place of the public ones: that is where dependency begins.
Where do limits remain?
Independence is never total, and it is right to know that beforehand:
- You still need a competent person. An open-source system is free, not automatic: updates and changes require someone who knows these tools, inside the company or outside.
- The custom parts need to be understood. Connections to the management system or special automations are bespoke work: whoever takes over has to read the documentation, and without documentation they start almost from scratch.
- Licences need to be read. Open WebUI is free, but above 50 users in a month its branding cannot be removed from the interface without a paid licence. Each model, moreover, has its own licence.
- External services remain external. If you connect email, cloud or messaging, their rules can change, whichever supplier you use.
What to have written into the quote
Seven lines that a serious supplier has no difficulty putting in writing:
- The list of programs used, with the name of each one.
- A statement that there are no supplier licences and no services that pass through the supplier's servers.
- Handover of the administrator credentials at start-up.
- The supplier's access separate, tied to a named person and activated only by you.
- Handover of the code for the scripts and the configurations.
- Documentation describing how the system is built and how it is restored.
- What happens at the end of the relationship: access is revoked and nothing is locked.
You will find other useful checks in how to choose who installs your local AI.
How we hand over an installation
We work only with widely used open source programs. On handover, which we carry out on site, throughout Italy, we leave you credentials, scripts and documentation. Those who wish continue with our support, those who prefer carry on by themselves or with another technician: the system is the same.
The details are on the Local AI for businesses page. To talk through your own case, write to us.
About the author: Dabryx
Dabryx is an Italian software house that installs local AI in companies, on site across Italy, on servers or Macs. The basic installation starts at €2,900, hardware not included, and consulting at €100 per hour. The office is in Rocca Priora, near Rome.
We also install local AI in Rome, Milan, Parma and Reggio Emilia, and we develop custom management systems and custom software.
Frequently asked questions
If I change supplier, does the local AI stop working?
No, if it is built with open source programs and does not depend on the supplier's licences or servers. Chat, models and archive keep running on your machine. Only the update and support work stops, and you can entrust that to someone else.
Can another company take over the running of the system?
Yes. Ollama and Open WebUI are tools known to those who do this job. With the administrator credentials and the handover documentation another technician can update and modify the installation.
How do I revoke the old supplier's access?
You disable their separate access and change the administrator passwords for the computer and the chat interface. If remote monitoring was active, that should be switched off too.
Is support compulsory?
No. Once installation is finished the company is free and independent. Support is for those who want someone to keep looking after updates and checks over time.
Want an estimate for your company?
Tell us how many people will use the AI and what for: we'll tell you which configuration you need.
Response times
Within 2 hours on business days (9:00–18:00) for clients with a support contract.
AI consulting
Basic installation from €2,900, consultancy from €100 per hour, on your company's server or Mac.
Where we work
Throughout Italy: we come on site to the client's premises and also support you remotely.