What cloud service model do you need?
In the last decade, the business industry, as we know it, has changed. Rather than business owners focusing on providing products to their customers, the focus has shifted to providing a service as well.
This desire has spurned the need for a technology that could also help business owners elevate how they interact with and treat their customers. Thus the “as a service” cloud platforms were born. However, due to the differing needs of business owners and their companies, different models of these platforms were also needed.
With IaaS, Saas, and PaaS, cloud models offer a range of different services to the entrepreneur looking to grow their businesses by serving their customers. But if you’re not quite sure which model is for you, then consider yourself lucky!
You’ve arrived at the right place. Read on to learn the difference between the top 3 cloud service models.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
This cloud model focuses on giving the user the capability to manage things in their infrastructures, such as hardware, software, and networking, completely online. With IaaS, your software is hosted through a third party, and any user would have the ability to access certain hardware or software from any desktop or mobile device. This allows you to alleviate the pain of needing someone on-the-ground or in the area, as well as provide heightened security for your business and its customers.
One of the most popular IaaSs available is Amazon EC2. This platform is a favorite amongst business owners as its hosted on Amazon’s computing environment, which has shown fortified reliability.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
In this cloud model, applications are hosted and provided to consumers completely online. By doing this, consumers no longer need to download or install an application. They’re able to tap into it wherever they are. One of the most successful and widely used SaaS models is that of Netflix. Transforming from hard-disk DVDs to an online platform, Netflix has become a household name with its ease of access.
Another great SaaS platform? NetSuite, of course! With its ability to give consumers online easy access to accounting, inventory, CRM, professional services, and eCommerce applications, this SaaS platform allows a business to be run from one central (online) location.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Similar to IaaS, PaaS is another infrastructure-type cloud model. The only difference is that it takes it one step further. Where IaaS is a standalone model, PaaS allows users to integrate the platform into their already existing applications. This is found to be especially useful for programmers and developers as PaaS allows users to write new codes and develop new uses for their infrastructure.
Heads Up: Did you know that NetSuite acts as both SaaS and PaaS? Its capabilities hold (almost) no limits!
Which Model is Best For You?
The needs of every company differ greatly and are highly dependent upon their industry. So before you nail down which model is best for your business, take time to step back and look at your current business operations. What’s working? What isn’t? Once you have the answers, you’ll have a plan of attack!