Managed AI Hosting
Managed AI hosting is a fully managed service where the provider handles all server provisioning, security hardening, monitoring, and maintenance for your AI agent. You focus on using the agent, not running it.
What is managed ai hosting?
Managed AI hosting is a service model where a provider handles all infrastructure responsibilities for running an AI agent: server provisioning, operating system configuration, security hardening, network setup, monitoring, patching, and ongoing maintenance. The customer focuses exclusively on configuring and using their AI agent, not on the underlying infrastructure.
This contrasts with self-hosting, where the customer is responsible for every layer of the stack. Self-hosting means choosing a VPS provider, setting up the server, installing dependencies, configuring the AI framework, hardening security, setting up monitoring, and handling all ongoing maintenance. Each of these steps requires specific technical expertise, and skipping any of them creates security gaps.
The managed hosting model exists because the gap between "running an AI agent" and "running a secure AI agent" is substantial. Setup guides get you to "running" in about an hour. Getting to "secure" takes 4-20 additional hours of hardening that most users either skip entirely or do incompletely. Managed hosting closes this gap by handling the hard parts automatically.
Why it matters
The total cost of self-hosting extends far beyond the monthly VPS bill. Initial setup takes hours of technical work. Ongoing maintenance requires regular patching, monitoring, and troubleshooting. Security hardening is complex and easy to get wrong. And the risk cost of running an unsecured agent with access to your business credentials can far exceed any hosting savings.
For businesses whose core competency is not server administration, managed hosting is the more cost-effective choice when you factor in time, risk, and opportunity cost. The monthly price difference between a $6 VPS and a managed service is often less than one hour of the customer's professional billing rate.
How ClawTrust handles this
ClawTrust is a fully managed AI hosting platform. When you sign up, your dedicated server is provisioned in under 5 minutes with complete security hardening applied automatically. This includes zero-port networking, LUKS2 disk encryption, Docker sandbox isolation, an encrypted credential vault, automated health checks every 15 minutes, fleet-wide security patching, and DDoS protection. You manage your agent through the web dashboard and connected messaging channels. There is no command line, no server management, and no security configuration required on your part.
Related terms
Zero Trust Hosting
Zero trust hosting is a security model where every server has zero open inbound ports, uses outbound-only encrypted networking, and requires verification for every connection.
AI Agent
An AI agent is an autonomous AI assistant that can take actions on your behalf: sending messages, scheduling meetings, writing code, and managing tasks across multiple platforms.
OpenClaw
OpenClaw is a powerful open-source AI agent framework that lets you deploy autonomous assistants across messaging channels. Out of the box, it prioritizes ease of use over security.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'fully managed' actually include?
Server provisioning, operating system setup, security hardening, firewall configuration, disk encryption, Docker container management, network tunnel setup, health monitoring, automated remediation, security patching, DDoS protection, and a web dashboard for agent management. Everything except choosing what your agent does.
How much time does managed hosting save?
Initial setup is reduced from 4-20 hours to under 5 minutes. Ongoing maintenance (patching, monitoring, troubleshooting) that would take several hours per month is handled automatically. Most customers report saving 10-20 hours in the first month alone.
Is managed hosting more expensive than self-hosting?
The monthly fee is higher than a bare VPS ($79/month vs $5-24/month). But when you include setup time, ongoing maintenance time, and the risk cost of running unsecured infrastructure, managed hosting is typically less expensive in total cost of ownership. One compromised credential can cost more than years of managed hosting fees.
Do I lose control with managed hosting?
You control everything about your agent: its personality, skills, connected channels, AI model selection, and behavior rules. What you give up is direct server access (SSH, root). For most users, the dashboard and API provide all the control they need without the complexity of server management.
Can I switch from self-hosting to managed hosting?
Yes. Export your agent configuration, skills, and workspace data from your existing setup. Sign up for ClawTrust and import your settings through the dashboard. Your agent keeps the same capabilities with enterprise security added automatically.
Explore further
See it in action
ClawTrust implements managed ai hosting automatically. Your agent is live in under 5 minutes.