The use of cloud technology has long been standard practice for businesses. More and more companies are discovering the possibilities of cloud solutions – to save on equipment, to protect their confidential information from hacking and internal data theft, etc.
If you are considering optimizing your IT infrastructure and moving your business to the cloud, it’s important to begin by understanding what cloud design services are, what types exist, and what their features are.
What is a cloud service?
Imagine that you need to quickly get from one point of the city to another. At the same time, you don’t want to spend time and money to learn how to drive, buy a car and maintain it. There is a cab service for this need – essentially a car as a service. You just get in and pay for the ride – and in a conditional half-hour, you’re there.
IT services can also be done similarly. For example, a client may not have to buy, host, and maintain physical data centers and their servers themselves. Instead, he can get access to technology services: compute services, storage, and databases that can be used as needed. In the end, the customer pays only when he uses the service. The program or infrastructure is then provided as a service.
The benefits of cloud architecture
Today, more and more companies are considering migrating to cloud services. This trend is leading to an increase in the size of the global cloud computing market. Research firm MarketsandMarkets predicts it could reach $832.1 billion by 2025.
Here are the key reasons to move to the cloud infrastructure:
- Reduced costs. Implementing a cloud architecture removes a significant workload from an organization’s IT teams. To manage and maintain on-premises systems, you need servers, data centers, and a development team, which requires an additional investment. Cloud architecture can reduce IT operating costs by freeing up IT team resources to innovate rather than fixing bugs and solving server problems.
- Security. Cloud hosting has a distributed storage system: if a server fails or becomes overloaded, traffic is redirected to another working resource. Failure of any component in the cloud infrastructure does not affect the operation of the system as a whole. Virtual networks with NAT, VPN, firewalls and virtual routers, antivirus, backup, and mirroring systems – all these solutions are designed to provide maximum security for data storage in the cloud. According to RapidScale, 94% of enterprises reported improved security after moving to the cloud. And 91% said the cloud makes it easier to comply with government regulations.
- Flexibility and scalability. Cloud solutions are ideal for companies that have growing or changing bandwidth needs. It allows them to easily increase or decrease cloud resources by simply changing their usage plan. The level of flexibility provided by a cloud system can give businesses a competitive advantage.
Cloud service models
The acronym XaaS, or “anything as a service,” is used to generally refer to cloud service models. XaaS refers to any service that is delivered over the Internet and using cloud computing. The “X” here refers to an unknown variable, like in an equation. If infrastructure is provided as a service, the type of service is called IaaS. If the development platform is PaaS. If the software is SaaS.
IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS services are the main models of cloud service delivery. Analyst agencies explain the difference between them as follows:
- In IaaS, the customer only gets the infrastructure;
- In PaaS, the customer receives the infrastructure and application development software;
- In SaaS – a ready-made application running in the cloud.
How are the services of cloud providers charged?
In general, the price depends on the cost of resources, software licensing, and a supplier’s extra charge. Everything here is very transparent: practically every cloud provider openly communicates its pricing models.
To summarize
Each of the cloud models offers certain features and capabilities. When businesses have a set of specific tasks and an understanding of the benefits of different types of cloud services, it’s easier to choose the right one.
Let us once again emphasize the features of each model:
1. IaaS allows you to control a ready-made virtual infrastructure, which, in turn, allows you to create a technology stack that is best adapted to the needs of the business.
2. Companies that already have some resources and an IT department can choose PaaS services. A ready-made platform will help companies develop customized solutions that are easier to integrate with existing workflows.
3. SaaS services allow businesses to save money and use a ready-to-use application service. Customers do not need to develop and maintain software on their own.