What Does Infrastructure as a Service Mean?
About the IaaS Architecture?
How Does IaaS Work?
What Are the Benefits of IaaS?
How Should You Choose the Right IaaS Partner?
Organizations need reliable, flexible platforms to support their applications, which is why so many have realized the benefit of migrating towards infrastructure as a service. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) ensures your business has efficient, easy-to-use, compute, data storage, virtual hardware, and network management, so your critical applications are optimized to accommodate your specific needs.
What Does Infrastructure as a Service Mean?
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a common cloud computing offer that delivers virtual computing resources over the Internet. IaaS service providers offer managed information technology (IT) infrastructure as a monthly subscription to companies. The infrastructure service is the combination of components required to run IT operations such as compute, data storage space, networking, managed in such a way to keep software and hardware running efficiently.
When your company subscribes to an IaaS service, you’re only responsible for running your own operating systems on the virtual servers, and your provider is the one who is responsible for all maintenance and repairs.
IaaS is important for companies that house business and customer information in the cloud. IaaS allows companies to deliver application services to employees, partners and customers while securely managing the content.
About the IaaS Architecture?
IaaS architecture is the structural design that delivers cloud resources to organizations customized to their particular requirements. Architectures are flexible enough to rapidly scale, so when your company consumption exceeds initial specifications your IaaS provider’s services can grow with you.
Cloud computing is architected with a dynamic multi-point framework that allows the IaaS service to accommodate a variety of end users. IaaS architecture allow your line of business applications to easily adapt to company changes, serving all your fluctuating needs at optimum efficiency levels. A well-designed Cloud compute architectures will guarantee that your business always has access to the computing resources it requires.
How Does IaaS Work?
Elements of infrastructure include resources such as virtual hosts, networks, as well as virtual hardware and software for data storage. After subscribing to the services from a IaaS provider, companies have access to these resources with minimal upkeep on their part.
Other infrastructure resources include network connections, also known as cross-connects, virtual processors, memory, storage, IP addresses and bandwidth. Providers have clusters of servers and interconnecting networks housed in multiple data centers across the United States. They maintain these hardware resources while the clients use the virtual components in their individual platforms through remote cloud access via an Internet connection.
What Are the Benefits of IaaS?
IaaS is just what your business needs to use cloud computing effectively. The many advantages of infrastructure as a service include:
- No maintenance responsibilities: Managed IT services provide professional network support and serviceso your IT team can focus more on the business. The provider takes care of the underlying real estate, hardware, network, cooling, and uninterruptible power so your business only reaps the virtual benefits.
- No maintenance costs:consuming your infrastructure as a service from a provider is cheaper than building your own infrastructure using your IT department and company resources, to include office space, electricity, and cooling. The management services include network maintenance and repairs. IaaS helps you reduce total costs, saving you money in the long run. Some elements of IaaS services are offered at a flat rate to allow for a predictable IT spend versus fluctuating costs to fix issues on your own as they occur.
- On-demand access: Paying for IaaS through a provider allows you to use resources whenever you need them and only pay for what you use.
- Remote services: IaaS providers monitor your systems remotely, giving you 24/7 support from wherever you are. The remote nature of IaaS means your users can access these resources while operating from anywhere, globally, with an Internet connection and overlaying security to protect sensitive information.
- Scalability:You can adjust your infrastructure as a service plan to reflect your specific business demands. Services are available as you need them, so you won’t pay for resources than you do not use, and you can quickly scale resource capacity to meet your company’s growing needs.
- Constant monitoring: IaaS gives you consistent peace of mind by keeping track of your cloud systems around the clock and preventing issues whenever possible.
- Less downtime: Downtime renders your technology or servers unusable for a period, costing your business valuable resource and lost opportunity. IaaS can prevent the issues that cause downtime, failed hardware, loss of power, and weather events, so you can stay focused on your business’s larger goals and avoid costly mishaps.
- Help from experts: IaaS providers offer professional cloud management services monitored by their knowledgeable employees. Providers exist to offer you the best services possible, and their teams are trained in this exact area of expertise.
How Should You Choose the Right IaaS Partner?
To find the best provider for you, you must first understand your company’s needs and the type of service that works best for your data.
In public clouds, IaaS providers offer infrastructure to many customers, meaning all the customers are tenants on a hyperscaled platform rely on shared resources across different accounts. With private clouds, the provider builds a solution dedicated to the specific needs of just one company, including protecting their sensitive company data. Hybrid clouds combine the features of public and private where businesses manage multiple platforms and decide where data should be stored.
When searching for a specific IaaS provider, keep these important factors in mind:
- Know what you will need from the IaaS provider: Begin by identifying what application workloads are moving to the cloud. Then, list the amount of compute, memory, and storage that you expect will be required for each application. Finally, review the list of applications in total, decide how much bandwidth will be required to cross-connect these applications to employees, customers, and vendors.
- Have a plan for file backup and disaster recovery: While these services are not mandatory, many IaaS builds include backup services for file / folder recovery and disaster recovery services to include workload replication across multiple datacenters. Replicating workloads in bi-coastal data centers can account for major weather events or other regional disruptions that could impact the operation of one datacenter.
- Be familiar with your industry regulations: if your organization operates within a regulated industry, make sure to include this in your discovery discussion with a potential supplier. Some IaaS suppliers are better suited to accommodate specific industry segments and the overlying regulatory commissions.
- Find a service level agreement that works for you: Providers should clearly state what they’re able to offer their clients. By setting clear client and provider expectations at the beginning of your partnership, you’ll know whether a specific provider’s services are right for your business.
- Work with people who know your industry: Businesses operate in a range of industries, and their technology services should reflect the specific work they do. Businesses in all fields can benefit from infrastructure as a service. Find an IaaS provider with experience working with other companies in your industry so you know you can trust them to manage your information and meet your goals effectively.
- Use a service dedicated to helping you grow: As your business grows and changes, you’ll want a partner that can sustain your new advancements and help you further expand when the time is right. Look for providers with innovative ideas and forward-thinking approaches so you can feel confident knowing you’ll always receive the most current solutions.
Partner With Morefield Communications
Using cloud-based technology in your business can maximize efficiency and set your company on a successful trajectory. Infrastructure as a service makes it possible for your business to use high-quality networks without being responsible for time-consuming and costly maintenance.
Morefield Communications offers a variety of IaaS solutions your business can customize to suit your needs, goals and growth. Our expert team works with your company to provide top-of-the-line cloud management that includes technological organization and integration. We’ll help you guard your data, increase efficiency and free up time for your staff to focus on making your business thrive.
Partner with Morefield Communications as your infrastructure as a service provider to ensure your company’s technology runs smoothly!