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Demystifying Cloud Services Models: A Foundational Guide
Introduction
“Cloud services” has been one of the most trending technology jargon passed around in recent times. We have seen that several organizations are preparing themselves for the now inevitable switch to the cloud. So, to lay out the essentials for this transformation, we have come up with a plan to help organizations carve their own cloud success stories.
Since the discussion area is just as vast as the open sky (no pun intended), we have created a three blog series to help you understand the various nitty-gritty of cloud services.
In this blog which will be the first part, we discuss the critical factors of assessment to choose an exemplary cloud service for your organization (from the currently available cloud servicing models).
In the second blog, we will discuss the management tools that any organization would require to monitor data and applications deployed on the cloud and reduce costs.
In the third blog, we will discuss the visible and invisible costs of taking the cloud journey for any organization.
At the end of this series, we are sure that we will provide the information required to make the right decision with cloud services. This series is designed to help you decide on various factors related to your business and answer all unanswered questions concerning cloud service management.
Let us look briefly into the different cloud models before deciding which model has to be chosen for your organization.
Types Of Cloud Service Models
In today’s world, many organizations are opting for cloud services and making their migration from on-prem services. There are many traditional services available in the market, which have been analyzed and talked about a lot. Therefore, we shall stick to discussing the three types of cloud service models. We will be discussing what these three service types are when an organization should use them, who its users are and what model would be apt for your organization.
IAAS
Let us take a detailed look into the IAAS model.
What is IAAS?
Infrastructure As A Service(IAAS) is a type of cloud service model that removes the stress of managing physical servers, networks, operating systems, software, apps and middleware and makes it easy for companies to manage it online as a service. An organization does not have to maintain physical servers and invest a lot of money into buying the infrastructure.
When to use IAAS?
A start-up company founder would want his/her team to concentrate more on optimizing the OS, application and infrastructure when at the same time they consider IAAS.
Any company that wants more control over regulatory compliance will choose to use IAAS.
Also, when complex web-based corporate projects are handled, the Infrastructure As A Service model is mainly preferred to improve efficiency and avoid the disadvantages of setting up different physical hardware and network requirements.
Additionally, organisations worldwide would prefer cloud services for backing up data and creating online infrastructure services to avoid climatic and natural disasters.
Projects which require high security and scalability also opt-in for this service.
Another challenge that the world is experiencing with the onset of big data is collecting a massive number of user data and storing it. Companies would not prefer to spend so much on building infrastructure to store such colossal data. Such organizations would opt for the IAAS cloud model.
Who uses IAAS?
A cloud vendor provides access to storage, networking, and other cloud computing resources to any organization that opts for IAAS. Usually, the Infrastructure and network architects play around with IAAS and gain hands-on experience. An organization with networking, security and infrastructure, server management, and server monitoring teams uses IAAS.
Also, an organization that usually has multiple cloud vendors chooses IAAS. Microsoft Azure provides a cloud strategy called “Azure Virtual Machines.” AWS provides AWS EC2 for IAAS based organizations. Google provides google compute engine (GCP) as a part of this plan. This model ensures reliable business continuity.
PAAS
Let us take a detailed look into the PAAS model.
What is PAAS?
Platform As A Service(PAAS) is a type of cloud service model that lets organizations use hardware and software tools from the cloud provider rather than buying hardware and installing software tools of their own. People who choose PAAS typically have a single cloud provider across the globe for all the branches of their organization.
When to use PAAS?
In the Platform As A Service cloud model, the consumer chooses the cloud provider to provide a platform for developing, running, and managing applications.
Low code or no-code platforms prefer these services and build their applications within a short period with complete security and required setups. Any small, growing startup which has side hustles to run opt-in for PAAS services from cloud providers and see a tremendous gain in a short period.
Any large conglomerate that plans on expanding and shrinking (scaling) its bases all over the world based on need & availability chooses this service model over others.
App developers who do not know much about the underlying technology but knows how to run an app and succeed would prefer this model. This cloud service model has encouraged many young entrepreneurs worldwide to develop innovative solutions for many challenges in our day-to-day lives. This reduces risks with respect to investment and profit.
IoT developers keenly choose PAAS services for their applications due to the advanced technologies and setup they can provide.
Who uses PAAS?
A PAAS vendor provides a platform to build and deliver applications to various organizations. The vendor provides the entire infrastructure-related services.
A company that has teams for Development, testing and service monitoring use PAAS to its fullest efficiency. AWS elastic beanstalk is a cloud-based PAAS model offered by Amazon web services that rank higher than most others. This service automatically handles deployment, auto-scaling, load balancing and various other services. Similarly, Microsoft Azure provides Azure CDN.
SAAS
Let us take a detailed look into the SAAS model
What is SAAS?
Software As A Service(SAAS) is a type of cloud service model that is the simplest and one-stop solution for all problems. Physical hardware, servers, network, storage, software updates, software licenses, security and everything in between is taken care of by the cloud provider. Just with an internet connection, you will be able to do wonders with your application. In simpler words, it is the process of directly using a product developed by an organization for our use. This becomes a cloud management platform, and you just have to login into your cloud application which results in high-cost savings.
When to use SAAS?
SAAS, in a word, can be described as the “over the internet” model. Right from security for applications, patch updates, hardware and software, everything is available for an organization when you log in to your SAAS cloud provider platform. Stable, high-speed internet is the only requirement.
Conglomerates who want centralized data and user management at every level can use this model for easy management.
Small, medium and large organizations can subscribe to the providers and enjoy hassle-free services.
Especially for start-up companies that aim at enormous growth, it is a no-brainer to go ahead and acquire this cloud service model rather than heavily investing in the license, in-house servers and software rights along with security.
Any organisation that sells mailing services and communication products broadly use this service model for chaos-free working.
Who uses SAAS?
A SAAS vendor provides the software and application through the internet. The end-users subscribe to the software and access it via the web or vendor API’s.
An organization consisting of configuration and user administration teams utilize the potential of SAAS to its fullest. Microsoft Azure’s most talked about Azure app service is a perfect example of the best SAAS service. It is a platform for developing web, mobile and API applications quickly. Google provides Google Kubernetes Engine(GKE) as a SAAS platform, and azure provides products like Office365.
Which Cloud Service Model should you choose for your organization?
According to Research and market’s journal, “By service type, the IaaS segment dominated the cloud services market in the past. However, the SaaS segment is expected to exhibit significant growth between 2020 and 2027 in the cloud services industry.”
There are various domains in business such as e-commerce, banking, real estate, insurance etc. Every type of organization requires carefully researched and picked out cloud service models according to their needs.
Never can we implement one model just based on its common advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage for one domain can turn out to be an advantage for another one. Let us look into certain important factors that determine the choice of the cloud service model.
Though we have discussed how every organization should think of various critical parameters before choosing the suitable cloud service model for them, it is essential to know all the required critical parameters that have to be considered before going in for the final step of purchasing.
For example, a start-up can choose any of the services mentioned above, but it is a critical choice.
From all the above scenarios, it is clear that industries’ domains are diverse. The categories of users are almost the same with respect to every domain, just differing in the positions they hold.
We can visualize one model for the entire organization. All three cloud models should be combined in the right proportion to deliver a hybrid model that can make an organization run successfully.
That is where we come into the picture. Eleviant, with its years of experience in this field, has provided services and built various cloud standard models for its clients and created umpteen success stories.
Eleviant has offered its cloud services to various organizations that need to implement and take this giant step with respect to their cloud investment. Our experts can talk to you in detail about your plans and how to go about your cloud journey. Do not hesitate to contact us to get started with your cloud journey.
We will be more than delighted to offer you an expert consultation!
Prologue for the next part in this blog series
We have clearly analyzed the various factors involved in selecting the suitable cloud service model in this blog. Now, in the next part of this series, you can expect a list of management tools that help you monitor and reduce costs concerning the cloud. We will discuss in detail various tools in the market and which of these can benefit your needs.
Stay tuned!
