[paulclinger]

The article (and the local-first software) has nothing to do with cloud vs. on-prem. It's about the priorities in developing and running/using your applications: "The word “local” in the name refers to your personal computer. “First” means your computer is prioritized over “someone else’s.”". Local-first apps can still use cloud resources for synchronization or for simplifying their initial configuration, but it's not a focal and critical point of the design and only serves as one of the nodes and can be made optional. You can still get all the benefits of being cloud-enabled, but you're also getting all the benefits of working without any cloud involvement at the cost of adding synchronization and conflict-resolution mechanisms.