AWS Outposts alternative
Pacific vs AWS Outposts: CUI-bounded pods vs an AWS rack on-site
AWS Outposts extends AWS APIs and operations into your building. That is the right tool when the job is “make this site look like AWS.” Pacific’s on-prem path is different: managed GPU racks that physically bound CUI and reduce the infrastructure your assessor has to walk — certification stays separate.
Outposts wins when AWS-region parity on your floor is the requirement. Pacific wins when the requirement is a dedicated GPU boundary for CUI/ITAR-adjacent work, not an extension of a public-cloud control plane.
Decision criteria
Pacific and AWS Outposts, side by side
Honest differences. No invented competitor pricing. Commercial terms for Pacific are always private.
| Criterion | Pacific | AWS Outposts |
|---|---|---|
| Job to be done | Dedicated, managed GPU infrastructure on your premises with a smaller assessment surface. | Run AWS services on a rack AWS owns and operates in your facility. |
| Control plane | Bare-metal cluster operated by Pacific. Not an AWS Region analog. | AWS APIs, IAM, and operational model — by design. |
| CUI / scope | Physical bound for CUI; language is scope reduction only. No certification claim. | Shared AWS responsibility model extended on-prem; assessor still reasons about AWS. |
| Hardware | Reserved HGX B300-class modules sized as AI factories. | Outposts configurations AWS offers; GPU SKUs follow AWS catalog and lead times. |
| Who operates it | Pacific builds, deploys, and operates; unstaffed on site with regional field service. | AWS operates the Outpost; you operate workloads as in-region. |
| Pricing | Private. Discussed on a qualified CMMC / capacity call. | AWS Outposts pricing is public in their calculator; we do not reproduce it. |
When to buy which
Honest split
When Pacific wins
- Aerospace / defense buyers who need a CUI-bounded GPU cluster, not AWS-on-the-floor.
- The assessor’s problem is infrastructure scope, and a dedicated module helps reduce it.
- You want reserved B300-class training/inference hardware, not an Outposts SKU.
When AWS Outposts wins
- The hard requirement is AWS service parity (same APIs, IAM, ops) inside the building.
- Your estate is already standardized on AWS and Outposts is the approved pattern.
- You need AWS-managed hardware refresh and do not want a third operator.
Next step
Talk through the reserved plan
Money pages first. Book a 30-minute call when you want a site-specific answer.
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