Infrastructure-as-a-Service Offers a Seamless IT Framework for Your Business

With all the cloud-based offerings available in the marketplace, it can be a real challenge to decipher which tools are right for your unique business needs. Even technical professionals that are steeped in the various acronyms being used might sometimes scratch their heads or use terms incorrectly. With everyone from small, local businesses to multinational enterprises making the leap to the cloud, it’s vital that your team has a deep understanding of how each technology can support your business. With Infrastructure-as-a-Service, or IaaS, your company is gaining access to the foundational technologies needed to keep your operations running smoothly and efficiently — while creating scalable solutions that can evolve with your needs.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service

Is Your Business Stuck with Inflexible On-Premise Infrastructure?

An investment in your infrastructure isn’t something to be done lightly, and many businesses plan for their hardware, servers, storage and networking to last for a period of many years. Unfortunately, this can leave you stuck with an overabundance of expensive equipment on your books that isn’t being used. Many companies got in the habit of scaling up their servers before they were needed, simply due to the long lead times required to spin up new servers or expand your network functionality. With this type of inflexible systems, your business teams can be extremely limited in terms of their ability to innovate and move quickly when technology opportunities become available. When you make the decision to shift your business infrastructure to the cloud, you’re providing a more flexible and extensible launchpad for your future business opportunities.

Software, Platform or Infrastructure as a Service

Shifting your business to the cloud is a term that could have many different meanings, so it’s vital that you drill down into the exact requirements for your business before making a decision to switch to new technology solutions. Here’s a quick guide to the differences between software, platform or infrastructure as a service.

  • SaaS, or Software-as-a-Service, is perhaps the most common model, utilizing the internet to deliver applications directly to users. No client-side installations or downloads are required. SaaS is the ideal way to provide discrete, economical access to limited software solutions or affordable collaboration tools. Examples include: Dropbox, GoToMeeting, eCommerce platforms and Microsoft 365.
  • PaaS, or Platform-as-a-Service, is what you may think of when you hear the term “cloud solutions”. While the software delivery platform is similar to SaaS and occurs over the internet, what’s being provided is access to platforms used to build web applications. Examples include: Apache Stratos, Windows Azure, Google App Engine and AWS Elastic Beanstalk.
  • IaaS, or Infrastructure-as-a-Service, delivers the full range of compute needs — from network virtualization to cloud-based data storage and operating systems. IaaS offers the functionality of a traditional data center with the convenience of easy, cloud-based access to all assets. Not only does IaaS manage applications and data, you can also manage hard drives, servers, networking and even databases. Examples include: AWS (Amazon Web Services, DigitalOcean, Microsoft Azure and Google Compute Engine (GCE).

Whether you are just starting to explore the idea of Infrastructure-as-a-Service or are firmly committed to this direction, you need the confidence of knowing that your interests are being protected by your vendors. Partnering with Altera Solutions allows you to gain a vendor-neutral external opinion about the various cloud-based strategies that are available on the market or “coming soon” in the future. Instead of relying on a few vendor sales teams to sway your thinking, turn over the research and organization to the team at Altera Solutions to ensure you receive a balanced recommendation and ongoing commitment to excellence and service. Contact the Altera Solutions team at (833) 373-3635 or via email to Information@alterasolutions.com to schedule your complimentary initial consultation.