What is IaaS?

Infrastructure as-a-Service involves outsourcing IT resources to a cloud service provider. The provider hosts the hardware, software and network (bandwidth, IP addresses, etc.) in one of its datacentres. They maintain it, and deliver the infrastructure’s performance to their customers via their network (public or private).

However, the user retains control over their projects and their data. Although the provider is responsible for maintaining the hardware, the customer is responsible for managing the applications and services hosted on it. They must also be able to organise their virtual infrastructure to optimise their own projects (virtualisation, containerisation, etc.).

The billing model for Infrastructure as-a-Service is pay-as-you-go — so you only pay for what you use. Rates are generally calculated on an hourly, daily or monthly basis, depending on the nature of the services used.

Public IaaS includes the resources that all the provider’s customers can use. It is a catalogue of services that users order to fit their needs.

Private IaaS is like creating a virtual private datacentre for a customer. All of the resources present are dedicated to the user.

Hybrid IaaS is a combination of the two previous versions. With a hybrid IaaS solution, the user can maintain control over their critical applications and services, while getting on-demand resources to meet specific requirements.
 

These three types of IaaS offer a wide range of possibilities:

• Developing and testing software.
• Hosting one or more complex websites.
• Building a recovery network for your data (backups and storage).
• Deploying web applications.
• Setting up machine learning programmes.
• Implementing big data processing.

There are several advantages to outsourcing or migrating your IT infrastructure to a service provider:

• Since the maintenance of your cloud infrastructure is the cloud provider’s responsibility, you can focus on your core business.
• Cloud technology is highly scalable, so you can add the resources you need, whenever you need them. This means you can be highly responsive to traffic spikes. It also makes it easier to scale your IT resources for your projects.
• You retain control of your sensitive data.
• IaaS offers great predictability in managing your budget. With pay-as-you-go billing, you can anticipate your IT expenses.
• Since the provider’s mission is to upgrade their solutions, you will benefit from the latest market innovations for your projects.
• You get optimal security for your business continuity. IaaS providers are typically bound by a Service Level Agreement (SLA), which means they must protect your IT services to ensure their availability. They also facilitate access to your data in the event of an incident.

IaaS, together with PaaS and SaaS, are the three main types of cloud service available on the market.

PaaS (Platform as-a-Service) is a platform that the service provider delivers to its customers. The service provider is responsible for hardware maintenance, and the user only pays for their use of the platform. This type of cloud service is generally intended for developers and programmers. Since they need support for their business, they can focus on their tasks without having to worry about the infrastructure. The cloud platform is a service that simplifies the day-to-day work of experts.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a solution for using a web application managed by the cloud provider. The provider manages software updates, patches and monitoring. The user can access their software via a dashboard or API. The main advantage of this mode is that it is easy for all users to access the cloud application. This means you do not need to install it locally on a common terminal — you only need to manage your teams’ user licences.