A cloud broker TMS that runs in any browser, on any device.
The freight broker TMS category still has plenty of products that call themselves "cloud" but really mean a Citrix-hosted desktop session or a Java applet wrapper around an on-prem codebase. Keelway is cloud the way modern SaaS is cloud: pure web stack, AWS-hosted, browser-native, mobile-responsive, continuously updated. Sign in from a laptop, a tablet, or a phone in a truck stop parking lot. Same dashboard, same data, same speed.
What real cloud-native means in 2026
Any modern browser, any device
New features ship without an upgrade window
The dispatch desk that travels
AWS us-east-1, us-west-2, ca-central-1
What "cloud" doesn't mean here
Some incumbent freight broker TMSs market themselves as "cloud" while running a hosted Citrix session, a Remote Desktop Protocol shell, or a thin web wrapper around an on-prem codebase. Those are hosted deployments, not cloud-native architectures. The user experience differs sharply: hosted deployments are slow, often require a specific Windows version, often require IT involvement to onboard a new user, and rarely scale gracefully when the brokerage grows from 10 to 50 brokers.
Keelway is cloud the way Notion, Linear, or Stripe are cloud. Pure web stack, instant onboarding, predictable performance, continuous deployment. The trade-off is no offline mode and a requirement for a working internet connection — which is the working assumption of every other software product a broker uses.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cloud-based broker TMS?+
A cloud-based broker TMS runs entirely in a web browser, hosted on infrastructure operated by the TMS vendor (typically AWS, Azure, or GCP). No local install on the broker's machine, no VPN to connect, no Citrix shell, no server in the back room. Updates ship continuously, the same dashboard works on any device, and the brokerage stops being its own IT department.
How does Keelway's cloud architecture differ from older 'cloud' broker TMSs?+
Older 'cloud' broker TMSs — particularly the ones from incumbent vendors that ported on-prem code to a hosted environment — are often Citrix-style remote desktops or Java applet wrappers, not true browser-native software. Keelway is built browser-native from day one. Modern web stack (Next.js, Postgres on RDS, S3), no plugin requirement, no fixed-IP allowlist needed for users, mobile-responsive on phones and tablets.
Where is the data hosted?+
AWS us-east-1 by default. Enterprise customers can provision a dedicated tenant in us-west-2 or ca-central-1 on contract. EU data residency is on the 2026 roadmap. Backups are daily with 35-day point-in-time recovery on Postgres, plus weekly snapshots retained 12 months. See /security for the full posture.
What happens if Keelway goes down?+
99.9% uptime SLA on the enterprise tier, measured against the carrier-email ingestion path and the operator dashboard. Below 99.9% earns 10% service credit, below 99.0% earns 25%, below 95.0% earns 50%. Public status page at status.keelway.com. For lower-tier plans we run on the same infrastructure and historically deliver similar uptime, but the SLA is enterprise-only.
Can our brokers work offline?+
No. Keelway is cloud-only and requires an internet connection. We considered offline mode and decided the engineering cost wasn't worth it — a freight broker with no internet is also a freight broker who can't reach DAT, Truckstop, or the carrier inbox, so the offline mode would mostly run an empty dashboard. Cellular hotspots and mobile responsiveness cover the on-the-road case.