Cloud computing, with its many “as a service” offerings, is an option for replacing outdated on-premise infrastructure with a flexible, pay-as-you-go, Internet-based form of computing. Read on to learn about saving costs and supporting business innovation with Cloud computing
Cloud Helps Convert Capital Expense to Operating Expense
Cloud has helped many businesses, especially small to medium-sized businesses, move their computing from possibly aging on-premise infrastructure to a cloud service provider’s (CSP) infrastructure. Thus, the CSP handles the operation and maintenance of servers, hardware and software. Small to medium-sized businesses can switch from capital expenses (including the depreciation of equipment) to a flexible subscription-based computing model that allows the company to scale provision up and down as needed. Organizations can respond easily to demand fluctuations and use the cloud to support business innovation. Companies are able to monitor their usage, learning the compute cost for each of customers and adjust usage as needed.
“Everything as a Service” Can Help Streamline Costs
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service(SaaS) are three primary cloud service offerings, and the range of new ones has grown over the years. “As a Service” offerings have grown, and are expected to continue growing, over the next few years. In 2022, Gartner predicted that IT spending would exceed $1.3 trillion, and expand to $1.8 trillion by 2025. Everything as a Service (XaaS) brings together multiple offerings into one package, and investment in XaaS is slated to be the top category. In addition to the most common offerings listed above, XaaS can include Database as a Service (DBaaS), Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) and many others.
Considerations for Cloud Adoption
When considering XaaS or any other cloud offering, a business needs to consider the business case for its use. What are the company’s goals, short- and long-term? What new products or services do they hope to roll out, and how will the cloud help? For example, a company might want to strengthen its disaster recovery plan, and invest in Disaster Recovery as a Service. What the offerings have in common is the flexibility and scalability of cloud, the ability to purchase more (or fewer) computing resources according to business needs. With this flexibility comes the need for a strong internet connection and network. Businesses subject to data-privacy and security regulations will need to ensure that their prospective provider follows the same regulations.
Cloud computing holds great potential to simplify infrastructure and convert capital expense to easily-managed operating expense. For more guidance on migrating workloads to the cloud and maximizing its benefits, contact your trusted technology advisor today.