Running a business, whether it is online or offline, requires a tedious amount of tasks. Every aspect of it must be carefully taken care of to ensure a smooth flow and a great result. Business owners not only manage sales, employees, and stocks. But, they also have to make sure that everything that runs in their business is safe and secure.
Nowadays, businesses store a huge amount of information, data, or output of employees in a technology known as cloud storage or cloud computing. This became a trend for owners since they have noticed that there are a lot of advantages derived from this technology.
What are these cloud computing technologies people are talking about?
There are three main categories of cloud computing, Platform-as-a-service (PaaS), Software-as-a-service (SaaS), and Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). These three cloud computing technologies have great advantages on businesses, but IaaS stands to be the one with greater benefits among them.
Before we get to know what are the benefits of IaaS on businesses, let’s define these three forms of cloud computing.
PaaS
This cloud computing allows the user to develop their application, test the function of the application, and collaborate with projects. PaaS requires the connection of the internet for members to continually keep working.
Some known samples of PaaS are AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Heroku, Google App Engine, and Apache Stratos.
SaaS
Saas interacts more with the software on the cloud. This allows users to access any data saved in its server. The users can check on data using any devices and with the internet connection. The best benefit of this cloud server is that the user doesn’t have to troubleshoot or maintain any hardware as the vendor would be responsible for it. This saves a lot of money for the user.
In addition, SaaS is cheaper as compared to other cloud computing, and users can only purchase what they required and add more if needed.
Samples of SaaS are Google App and Microsoft Office 365.
IaaS
Iaas, like other cloud computing, provides great advantages too. However, the greatest of its advantages is that users have a lot of control over their cloud resources as compared to PaaS and SaaS.
Now you know what is the difference between the three, it is time to check out why you should choose IaaS, and what can it do for your business.
Benefits of IaaS on your Business:
You only pay what you need or use.
There are times when businesses encounter a large surge of traffic into their site, and sometimes the number of traffic lessens. Therefore, utilizing an infrastructure that allows scalability must be one feature to consider.
This feature is often seen in IaaS. The scalable feature of this cloud computing can save money for a business. This means it allows users to purchase what they only need and pay for it. If they want to scale up or down, it’s easy and flexible.
Paying only for the services you use will be a big help for your business. IaaS providers allow users to do such.
It supports Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BC).
Another benefit your business will receive from trying IaaS is that you don’t have to worry about down sites. IaaS will run even when one or more server is down. The money you have invested in has paid off. And, your business continues to work.
Iaas allows businesses to save on downtime because employees can continue their work anywhere. This feature helps the business to continue with no interruption, which means no need to delay profit.
It is accessible anytime and anywhere.
In today’s age, working remotely has become a trend. Businesses hire people across the globe to manage some aspects of their business. This form of employment gives owners more skilled works and could save them a lot of money. Meanwhile, employees are able to work within their own convenience.
Since this is the trend, technology has also adapted to it. Now this cloud computing provides easy access to data or information with an internet connection. Aside from easy access anywhere and anytime. IaaS allows as many members as possible to have access to it.
It cuts extra expenses.
When a business turns to use IaaS, it can save a lot of time and money. When using the traditional format of managing data, traffic, and others, it requires expensive maintenance of hardware and even replacing it when it’s not working.
With IaaS, as mentioned above, users only pay what they use or consume. This saves a lot of money for businesses, as it avoids the need to pay a fixed monthly or annual rate even when you do not consume a certain service.
Business will grow.
Since IaaS has everything under control, business owners don’t have to worry about any loss, money to spend for extensive maintenance, and more. Instead, they can focus their time and finances on aspects that can help the company grow.
It has increased security.
The online world is uncertain anymore. Every second, a hacker emerges out of nowhere to gather private data of users. Knowing that your files are at risk is a nightmare. But, IaaS providers often have a higher security level to look over their users’ data.
It has a strict access guideline, and it is secured with multiple encryption measures to conceal the confidential data of their users. Therefore, when choosing an IaaS provider, always be certain to ask about their security measures.
If you are certain with your provider’s security measure, you’ll be at peace knowing that cyber threats or data breach would not be a problem.
Here are some examples of IaaS providers you can choose from for your business
- Amazon EC2
- Rackspace Cloud
- Window Azure or Microsoft Azure
- Google Compute Engine
- DigitalOcean
- IBM SmartCloud Enterprise
- Green Cloud Technologies
All of these cloud providers have their own advantages and disadvantages. Businesses must be keen on choosing what provider works best for their company.
Now that you know what you can reap from investing in an IaaS, it’s time to venture on trying to explore one of which. Using cloud computing technology for your business will save you both time and money. The time and money you saved can be used to further grow your business into a success.
