Infrastructure as a Service, or IaaS is one of three main forms of cloud computing service models available, alongside Software as a Service, and Platform as a Service.
Google defines IaaS as a cloud service model that offers on-demand infrastructure resources, such as compute, storage, networking, and virtualisation, to businesses and individuals via the cloud.
What is Cloud Computing?
The cloud is essentially the internet, and anything stored in the cloud is saved on internet servers rather than your computer’s hard drive.
The delivery of computing services via a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and analyse data is referred to as cloud computing. As previously stated, this is then offered in three different service models, each of which meets a distinct set of business requirements.
So, what is Infrastructure as a Service?
“As a service” essentially means “via the internet.” In the case of IaaS, this entails delivering infrastructure components that would normally be found on a data centre’s premises, such as servers and everything that makes them operational – storage, networking, and virtualisation – over the internet. It is also known as Hardware as a Service (HaaS).
In addition to these infrastructure components, an IaaS service provider, such as our sister company Radical Cloud Solutions, provides a variety of services. Radical Cloud Solutions offers server deployments, security, log access, backup and recovery, monitoring, and billing.
With the IaaS model, your provider, such as Radical Cloud Solutions, will manage the various components of the computing stack, but you will be responsible for managing the operating system, middleware, data, and applications. Examples of public cloud IaaS providers include Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
What are the benefits of IaaS?
– Cost
Maintaining, upgrading, or repairing on-premises IT infrastructure can be costly, and it also necessitates the attention of dedicated and qualified personnel. These expenses are reduced by using IaaS. You can use what you need while your IaaS provider handles the complex and costly management tasks. This allows your organisation to concentrate on its primary objectives.
With IaaS, you rent access to cloud infrastructure resources, sometimes on a pay-as-you-go basis, which means you only need to pay for what you need when you need it.
IaaS also changes the costing model for business Infrastructure from a capex orientated budget done annually to an opex focused model with daily, weekly or monthly cost management which ultimately saves money while providing flexibility.
– Security
Security should always be a top priority for all businesses. With cybersecurity threats constantly evolving, you need a provider who stays one step ahead of the game and implements the necessary security measures to ensure threats do not disrupt your infrastructure. Using Google Cloud Platform your business can be assured of market leading security through multi-factor authentication and Google’s zero trust model and USB key access which since implementing Google has had zero breaches.
– Scalability
Your infrastructure requirements change as your needs and workloads change. With IaaS, you can scale the size of your infrastructure as needed, accommodating spikes in resource demand. With no capex hardware requirements your infrastructure can be upgraded or downgraded within seconds and thus ensure you have all the resources required at any point.
