Self-hosted or online?
Places Builder is one application that you can use in two ways. Both produce the same IMDF packages for Microsoft Places.
The online version is currently a pilot. Features and limits can still change.
| Self-hosted | Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | In your own Azure subscription | Operated for you at placesbuilder.online |
| Getting started | Deploy the template, run the sign-in script, assign users (guide) | Sign in with a work or school account (guide) |
| Who updates it | You. You pick a release and move to it with one setting | The service is updated for you |
| Who can use it | The people and groups you assign in Entra | The first person of your organisation becomes owner and invites colleagues |
| Workspace | One shared workspace for everyone in your deployment | One separate workspace per organisation |
| Where the data is | In a storage account in your subscription, under your control | In the online service, separated per organisation |
| Cost | The Azure resources you run (web app plan, storage, Azure Maps). No licence fee | Pricing to be announced |
| Source | Open source, AGPL-3.0, on GitHub | Runs the same application |
Choose self-hosted if
- your policies require that floor plans and office data stay in your own tenant and subscription,
- you want to decide when to update, and which version you run,
- you have someone who can deploy Azure resources and create an Entra app registration.
Choose online if
- you want to start today without deploying anything,
- a small group of people maintains the maps,
- you do not want to manage Azure resources or updates.
Not sure? You can try the online version first. The IMDF packages you export are ordinary files, but offices and plans cannot yet be moved between the two versions, so decide before you invest a lot of time in one of them.