An organisation’s technology requirements are always changing. Infrastructures as a Service (IaaS) optimises the way organisations consume computing resources, allowing them to increase the scalability of their IT environments, and save time and money.
IaaS is a cloud computing service model, where basic computing resources like servers and storage are provisioned over the Internet. Organisations only pay for consumption, while the IaaS provider manages and maintains your ‘hired’ infrastructure.
“More and more companies are turning to IaaS to get an edge over the competition. IaaS gives you the ability to scale up resources or down to meet business requirements, lowering IT costs and ultimately, freeing up operational and financial resources to spend on your core business” - Director of R & G Technologies, Mimi Tan.
The fastest growing cloud computing service model is IaaS, with usage rising 29% from the previous year. Organisations are driving cloud adoption, taking advantage of the pay-as-you pricing model, and increased access to the latest technologies. Organisations using IaaS also have faster deployment and improved scalability, without the hassle of hiring additional technicians.
Here are four reasons why you should consider IaaS:
1. Pay for consumption
Purchasing infrastructure means paying for it even when it’s not in use. IaaS providers charge organisations based on usage and capacity, allowing an organisation to shift financial and operational expenditure away from costly technology assets.
Cutting costs is the main priority for 79% of organisations. Organisations using IaaS don’t have to make large, upfront capital investments in expensive infrastructure. Instead, they ‘hire’ resources off an IaaS provider, only paying for consumption.
For example, development and testing environments don’t need to be live 24 hours a day. The 67% of organisations surveyed using IaaS for development are able to ‘turn off’ equipment, so they’re not paying for processing power or memory when they don’t require it.
The pay-as-you go model keeps your total cost of ownership of IT (TCO) down and releases resources previously tied up in IT, so you can focus on driving the business forward.
2. Leverage new technologies
Remembering to update technology is a challenge. When organisations outsource their infrastructure, the IaaS provider becomes responsible for updates, maintenance and introducing new services, which can streamline their business.
According to Verizon Enterprise Solutions, 57% of those surveyed viewed IT as an investment driving innovation and growth. Organisations not staying on top of the latest technologies are susceptible to falling behind their technology-savvy competitors.
An organisation’s in-house IT department can’t match the depth and breadth of experience possessed by an IaaS provider’s staff. A service provider has teams of technical engineers specialising in various areas, devoted to introducing an organisation to new security and storage services, tool sets and more.
Not having to worry about researching and testing puts organisations in a powerful position. They’re able to embrace new technology without having wasted resources first, ensuring positive impacts are felt across the entire organisation.
3. Rapid deployment and scalability
Delays between purchasing and deploying additional resources can cost an organisation an arm and a leg in lost business. IaaS enables the scaling up and down of resources on demand.
One of the primary drivers for cloud adoption is ‘agility and scalability,’ or the ability to grow and shrink IT capacity on demand.
Organisations need instant scalability to stop teams from getting bottlenecked while waiting for resources to catch up to their needs and requirements. For example, purchasing, installing and networking servers can take weeks. Whereas, an IaaS provider can do this in minutes, resulting in rapid deployment of new applications, adding storage, RAM and CPU capacity as demands intensify.
IaaS gives organisations the power to rapidly meet changing demands, while ensuring there’s no time wasted during acquisition of new resources, and no money wasted when they’re not necessary.
4. Reduced IT personnel
On-premise infrastructure requires highly-trained personnel to support it. Organisations using IaaS don’t have an expensive IT department preoccupied with fighting fires. Instead, the organisation’s IT personnel are able to focus on innovating and enabling business development.
The increasing complexity of servers, storage and networking makes training an ongoing expense. IaaS means the department of server, storage and virtualisation experts who configure, maintain and update your infrastructure aren’t the organisation’s concern. Instead, an organisation’s IT department can focus on delivering creative, technology solutions designed to enhance service delivery.
The result is a proactive IT department, reduced training and labour costs, and enhanced profitability.
Reduce costs and save time with IaaS
Every organisation endeavours to reduce costs, hone operations and implement solutions, which differentiate them from others in the industry. According to research by Dimensional Research, 51% of CIOs are moving to the cloud to gain ‘competitive advantage. Those organisations will experience lower IT costs, despite staying up-to-date with the latest innovations in technology.
They’ll be able to deploy those solutions rapidly, scale instantly and streamline their IT department. While many organisations fear transitioning from on-premise infrastructure to IaaS, a reputable, trustworthy provider can help make this transition seamless. The end result will be highly available and optimised infrastructure, which allows your organisation to focus on its core competencies, and maintain outstanding service delivery.
Do you need help choosing an IaaS provider? We can help you make the move to IaaS. Call us on 1300 562 886 or contact us via this page.