What is IaaS capable of?
An inside look at what makes IaaS so popular among the cloud computing community
Right now, when we think of cloud computing for business, IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) is the first thing that springs to mind. This is due to the fact that IaaS is among the most popular and attractive choices for organizations that might be looking to put cloud computing technology to work for them. Logically, the next question is – why; what makes IaaS such a striking choice?
Of the many benefits purported by IaaS, maintaining acceptable costs is one of the most prominent. Simply put, most businesses have a clearly defined investment / venture limit (which is the total amount they can invest in any one area) that often dictates how they will spend. If we’re talking about IaaS, up-front costs are often eliminated altogether, as are expenditures associated with maintenance of hardware systems.
Then of course you have the fact that IaaS is often deployed as a metered service, meaning, you pay for what you actually use. When you combine all of the aforementioned factors it becomes clearly apparent that IaaS helps organizations to lower their Total Cost of Ownership.
For an IT department, IaaS also offers the opportunity to function in a traditional capacity (albeit while utilizing remotely positioned assets). In other forms of cloud computing, IT services might be “tacked-on” to their service package, which of course would eliminate the need for on-site IT altogether.
However, this option isn’t always acceptable, especially when you’re talking about companies with sensitive data or perhaps those who require more intensive IT support/solutions or customized infrastructure/design. What IaaS allows businesses to do is retain control over the finer aspects of their IT operation while at the same time outsourcing the upkeep of hardware to their vendor(s). Naturally, this will of course require a company to have personnel on hand who are trained and certified in cloud computing and IaaS.
Additionally, IaaS works just like other forms of cloud computing infrastructure, being that it is extremely “scalable”. In other words, specific applications are fed additional resources when their demand reaches certain levels. This allows a business to more efficiently manage IT in times of great volume and stress as well as in situations where capacity is below normal. Also, it is this scalability that contributes to the ongoing value of IaaS when it comes to maintaining budgetary standards.
Then there are some businesses are (or could become) very reliant on IT services, yet they might not have the finances or abilities to maintain an expensive hardware infrastructure; IaaS takes care of that. Through IaaS, organizations can devote finances that might have gone into establishing on-site IT assets toward actually developing new solutions or products.
But it’s not just the company itself that benefits from this concept, IT workers won’t be saddled down with unnecessary and laborious tasks due to the maintenance and upkeep of expensive hardware systems either. In the end, this all translates into a sleeker IT operation that can focus on specific projects and goals which are more closely aligned with those of the business they are servicing.
In an IaaS scenario, individual components (servers, specific hardware, software, applications, OS’s, storage solutions, etc…) can often be quickly added or subtracted without the need for complex oversight. Given that IaaS is a classic form of cloud computing operating under a pay-as-you-go paradigm, increasing one’s capabilities or available services is much, much easier that it might be in other types of situations.
Likewise, through IaaS, IT infrastructure can be designed to specifically address what businesses are looking for. Meaning; organizations can create a type of system that doesn’t exist anywhere else and is perfect for their specific needs. This ability to quickly arrange bespoke infrastructure also gives businesses a competitive edge that they’re not likely to capture in any other manner (short of extensive investing, of course).
So, what is it that makes IaaS such a desirable asset? Arguably it’s the insane number of options that are available under IaaS that make it so desirable. As the world continues tumbling forward into a future dominated by computing and networking technology, services like IaaS keep businesses on the cutting edge of integrating each new development. Moreover, cloud computing and IaaS allows for more sensible and cost-effective approaches to IT and use of advanced applications in general.