IaaS or Infrastructure as a Service is a special model of cloud storage that provides the users with an opportunity to outsource computer hardware, equipment, networking, and the services related to it, among which there are content delivery networks and load balancing ones. In Infrastructure as a Service, the provider is the owner of the storage and equipment which they lend to the user companies for a certain payment, which is assigned based on the resources used.
The provider is responsible for the maintenance and balanced work of their equipment. IaaS carries a number of benefits for the organizations, but it also has some disadvantages. Among the most well known IaaS provider companies, there are Windows Azure, IBM Smart Cloud Enterprise, Amazon Web Services, and Google Compute Engine. Before choosing to begin using IaaS, the companies are to evaluate all the pros and cons of this service properly.
The cloud infrastructure that is included in IaaS is not managed by the consumer. Instead, the customer controls the data with the help of applications and operating systems. In order to control the environment, the clients employ an IT operations management console with GUI (graphical user interface) (Reed, 2014). For the large companies, one of the most important benefits provided by IaaS is the opportunity to outsource great portions of work to the cloud during the busiest seasons.
This process is also referred to as “cloud bursting.” Without the employment of IaaS, such work normally requires additional services on on-premise systems. This way, the organizations using IaaS are able to save costs that otherwise would be spent on additional servers, which would only be used during certain periods of the fiscal year. Using IaaS, the user only pays for the times when the service was actually launched. This allows the user to calculate the exact cost of the service carefully.
This way, IaaS solutions may be customized to provide the best assistance unique for each customer. Another significant benefit is timing. Since in the contemporary high-speed world, time is everything, it can be confidently stated that quick response of the service provider allows the client to save time, which translated into costs.
With IaaS, the system can be implemented within seconds, and the user does not need to wait for the installation of servers and networks. Access to IaaS is flexible, and the user can is available for any device and from any location.
One of the main and most frequently discussed disadvantages of IaaS is security. There is a perception that using such services, the clients lose control over their data, and as a result, information may be accessed by someone else, and its security may be violated. To address this worry, some of the IaaS providers have an option of Private Cloud, which represents an environment where one’s own servers will be stored. One more factor surrounded by a lot of arguments is compliance.
In cases of disaster recovery, the issue is mainly solved based on the national regulations of the domestic governments of the providers. IaaS providers usually have datasets located abroad, which creates frustrations in this concern. Finally, IaaS outages are often spoken about since such situations have already occurred, and in many cases, there is no guarantee that the provider would be able to fix the system quickly and preserve all the data.
Reference List
Reed, R. (2014). Infrastructure-as-a-Service: Concepts, Advantages & Disadvantages. Web.