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In the 20th century we were reliant on companies relied on servers and computers to be on premise. This meant when new servers had to be spun up, it could take weeks or even months to get everything set up. From getting budget, putting out orders, having servers shipped and then installed was a long arduous process.
Well, the times have changed now and the concept of companies having millions of dollars of unused servers on premise is now being replaced by cloud computing services.
Simply put, cloud computing is a remote service that could be in the form of infrastructure, software, storage, platforms, or a host of other services.
Why Do Companies Invest In Cloud Computing Like AWS And Azure?
This variety of services offered allows companies to not only reduce their technical hardware costs but also their employee costs as much of what used to require a team of engineers in the past can now be put onto 1-2 developers.
With all the variety, it can be difficult to keep track of all the possible options for cloud service types. So let’s look at the various types.
Types Of Cloud Computing Services
IaaS
What Is It?
IaaS, Infrastructure-as-a-Service, is a service model that works as a pool of virtual or physical infrastructure that include servers, networking, data centers, hypervisor layer, and even virtualization. Typically, this service also includes management of infrastructure as well as storage resiliency. Through IaaS, companies can install OS, deploy their databases and have the flexibility to constantly change the amount of storage, or environments they are using. You can use pay monthly, hourly, or weekly, as per your convenience.
IaaS is one of the fundamental service delivery methods in cloud computing that allows companies to access storage, network, servers and much more over the internet via 3rd party cloud computing service providers. IaaS allows organizations to create an IT environment according to their business requirements.
Real-Life Use Case
Some of the most popular IaaS examples include products likes AWS’s EC2 or RDS. These services allow you to easily spin up a linux server or a database and scale it to your needs. No need to get a new server, just click create on AWS. There are also AWS workspaces which allow companies to spin up virtual PC’s on a virtual private cloud network. This can make it easier to manager security and do remote work.
No need to buy a computer.
Startups and small companies work with IaaS specifically to avoid spending more on hardware and software so obviously they require scalability of IaaS and service providers like Google are great for it! You can actually keep exchanging day-to-day documentation on one central sheet via a simple link.
SaaS
What Is It?
SaaS, Software-as-a-Service, is a software distribution model that hosts applications online and makes them available for consumers. All you need to have is an internet connection and a web browser to use these apps.
The biggest benefit of SaaS is that it offers a web delivery model that completely eliminates the need to have an IT staff to install or download applications on every computer. I, for one, use Google Docs a lot which not only helps me greatly by offering online storage but is accessible anywhere, on any device, with auto-saving options.
Besides, the vendor manages technical issues which makes app usage more convenient for SaaS users.
Real-Life Use Case
Some of the most popular SaaS providers include Google GSuite, Salesforce, Dropbox, and SAP Concur. The best example of SaaS is the Gmail, an online email service, that allows you to access the files and applications hosted by Google from any device via the internet. The ability to use the product
PaaS
What Is It?
PaaS, Platform-as-a-Service, is basically a cloud model that delivers software and hardware tools enabling consumers to develop, run and test their applications. One of the biggest advantages of using PaaS is that it offers easy migration towards a hybrid model.
It is very similar to SaaS however instead of delivering software over the internet, it delivers a platform for creating software online. This allows you to build websites and apps much simpler
Typically PaaS delivers a framework for developers so they can create customized applications without having to worry about the infrastructure. PaaS works specifically for developers who can create the design and manage applications online. These applications tend to be highly scalable and always available.
Real-Life Use Case
Some of the most popular PaaS service providers include OpenShift, AWS Beanstalk, Google App Engine, and Windows Azure. OpenShift, for instance, includes Linux OS, networking, registry, monitoring, authentication, and container runtime solutions so customers can use OpenShift to set up the infrastructure for their own enterprise developers.
FaaS
What Is It?
FaaS, Function-as-a-Service, is a category of cloud services that provides a platform for developers to run and manage the functionalities of their application without worrying about the infrastructure or complexity associated with the development of the app.
The biggest benefit of FaaS is that it offers serverless computing and therefore, lets developers deploy their production-ready code to the internet without the hassle of planning, provision, or maintenance of computing resources.
Real-Life Use Case
Most Popular examples of FaaS include Amazon Lambda, Microsoft Azure Functions, IBM Cloud Functions, and Google Cloud Functions. Lambda, for instance, executes the code only when it is needed, and scales the requests per day as per requirement automatically. Therefore, it comes in handy when combined with API Gateways to develop one optimal solution.
Conclusion
Cloud Computing is not a scalable alternative to your company’s IT solutions, it is a full-fledged platform offering storage, servers, and virtual desktops. With Cloud Computing Services such as IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and FaaS, your business can use virtualized infrastructure to manage its IT side. Not only this, the virtualization makes it easier for companies to reduce costs and allow better analytics. Cloud computing is all about simplifying technological processes and if your organization hasn’t taken up the services yet, you better begin the research to stay relevant in the market.
If you team is in need of cloud computing, AWS or Azure consultants or planning then please feel free to reach out to our team!
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