Cloud Hosting – Infrastructure as a Service

Via Cloud Tweaks

As the fiercely competitive modern business environment continues to evolve, companies of every size are becoming increasingly aware of the many benefits presented by cloud computing. Just as mainframes eventually evolved into the current sever environment, the image of a roomful of computers in a large building will soon begin to fade. The speed, flexibility and reduced cost of cloud hosting have begun to trigger the next evolution in the IT industry.

Defining IaaS

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) is one of the three primary applications of cloud hosting. Along with Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS), IaaS functionality is delivered through the web in an on-demand format. Services are usually available through a fixed-price monthly subscription or billed as pay per use. In either scenario, usage and pricing can be scaled up or down to accommodate current and future needs.

From a foundational standpoint, IaaS allows virtually any application to run seamlessly across a wide variety of infrastructure elements. This includes servers, networks or storage components. IaaS provides exceptional flexibility as it conforms to the needs of the client in the private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud environments.

Providers of IaaS hosting are available to accommodate the requirements of every business regardless of size. Issues relating to cost and privacy usually dictate how a company chooses to access IaaS through the cloud. Cost and accessibility tend to have an inverse relationship as security is enhanced and service levels increase. For example, a private cloud has substantially fewer users than a public cloud, so service costs are typically higher.

The emerging landscape for cloud hosting and IaaS continues to rapidly evolve. While many providers offer IaaS as an extension of existing hosting services, many new providers are focused solely on IaaS. This difference often revolves around underlying hardware issues, virtualization capacities and security protocols.

Benefits of Dedicated Cloud Hosting for IaaS

The benefits of IaaS within a cloud environment are so significant they are almost self-evident. The elimination of infrastructure investment is a primary driver that can result in substantial capital expense savings. On-going upgrades and asset related outlays are virtually eliminated since these services are included in package pricing. Staffing costs can be significantly reduced, and in some cases, entire departments can be eliminated. For companies with sizable investments in existing data centres, build-outs can be delayed or avoided altogether.

The size and scale of the IaaS provider presents customers with an essentially unlimited number of ways to augment business processes. Massive platforms are segmented on a per client basis which provides extraordinary economies of scale opportunities and improvements in comprehensive efficiency.

The Future of IaaS

As emerging virtualization solutions such as VMware and Microsoft Hyper- V servers continue to evolve from enterprise level implementation, IaaS through cloud hosting offers superior speed, reliability and state-of-the-art security protection.

By Jonathon Linnell/UKfast Hosting