What is IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

IaaS is an alternative to on-premises data centers and is one of several cloud computing models that an organization can adopt. The technology offers several benefits for SMBs and enterprises alike, which has driven growing cloud adoption.

In an IaaS deployment, an organization deploys VMs in a provider’s environment. These VMs are essentially files that define the configuration information and state of a virtual computer. When needed, the VM hypervisor, which runs the VM, uses these files to simulate the computer’s operations.

IaaS deployments are highly scalable and flexible because VMs can be started, stopped, and copied as needed. An organization that needs more computational power can launch another copy of a VM with a few clicks and can pause or delete an unneeded VM with a similar level of effort. This makes IaaS invaluable for companies whose resource requirements are unpredictable, seasonal, or growing over time.

With a traditional on-premises data center, an organization needs to invest a certain amount of money in physical infrastructure. To have access to computational power or storage space, it needs to purchase, install, and operate a server or other device that provides these resources. This means companies must plan and pay for the maximum amount of resources that they may need, even if much of this investment is not used most of the time.

Cloud deployments like IaaS often operate on a pay-as-you-go model where customers pay for only the resources that they use. This has the potential to offer significant cost savings since an organization can deploy additional resources when needed rather than keeping them in reserve just in case.

In an on-premises data center, an organization is responsible for managing the physical infrastructure and links between servers. This limits the agility and flexibility of these solutions since a major change may require acquiring new systems or rewiring the data center.

In an IaaS deployment, the organization’s infrastructure is deployed as software, making it fast and easy to change configurations as needed. Additionally, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) allows organizations to automate deployment and updates, improving agility and reducing load on the development team.

Many organizations lack the resources required to deploy fully redundant data centers. As a result, a natural disaster or other significant event could disrupt the organization’s operations.

An IaaS provider will likely operate multiple data centers so an organization can have redundant copies of VMs and data. This means that they can quickly recover from events that disrupt operations at a particular site.

PaaS offerings are designed to provide customers with a managed environment where they can develop and run applications. These apps can access various resources, such as computing or data storage, that are managed by the service provider. AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Microsoft Azure App Service are examples of PaaS solutions.

This differs from IaaS because it abstracts away some of the customer's management overhead. In IaaS, the customer deploys, configures, and manages virtual machines, and resources are accessed via these machines. In PaaS, the underlying operating system and runtime are managed by the cloud provider.

SaaS offers the least control over an organization’s cloud environment. In this model, the cloud customer uses applications created and managed by the cloud provider and is responsible for only their own configurations and data. Examples of this include tools like Gmail or Salesforce.

SaaS differs significantly from IaaS in terms of an organization’s responsibility and use cases. In IaaS, an organization can create its own software and is also responsible for managing the OS where it runs. In SaaS, the company uses software developed by its provider.

The right cloud model for your needs depends on your desired use case. Some key considerations include:

• If you’re using third-party software rather than writing your own, then SaaS is the right model.
• If you’re developing a standalone application and the operating environment doesn’t matter, then PaaS might be the right model.
• If you need to provide a desktop environment or configure an OS to support an application, then IaaS might be the right model.

When selecting a provider, it’s important to consider the organization’s particular use case and vendor capabilities. In some cases, a provider may offer specialized offerings with better pricing, performance, etc., than their competitors for a particular use case.

Some important factors to consider when choosing an IaaS provider include:

• Security: As companies move critical applications and data to the cloud, the security of these assets is a major concern. When evaluating IaaS providers, companies should look into the security tools, features, and configurations provided to determine if they meet corporate security standards.
• Scalability: Scalability is one of the core advantages of the cloud compared to on-premises environments. A cloud provider needs not only the resources required to meet an organization’s scalability goals but also systems in place to allow organizations to scale their cloud footprint up or down quickly and cost-effectively.
• Cost: Cloud environments can offer cost savings, but the degree of savings depends on how a customer uses a provider’s services. An organization should define its use case for the IaaS platform and use this to determine the required capabilities and associated costs.

IaaS is a core cloud model, but it has evolved over time and will continue to do so in the future. Some key trends impacting IaaS include:

• Containerization and Cloud-Native Apps: IaaS allows companies to “lift and shift” VMs from on-premises environments, but companies are increasingly moving toward containerization and cloud-native apps. These applications can take full advantage of cloud scalability and move more easily between environments.
• AI and ML: Resource optimization is a hard problem in the cloud, leading to many companies overspending on their cloud deployments. One key application of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in IaaS is for identifying and addressing inefficient resource usage and other cloud issues.
• Edge Computing: Edge computing moves data processing power to the network edge, allowing Internet of Things (IoT) devices to perform some data preprocessing on-device before sending it to the cloud. This could reduce an organization’s cloud utilization and network bandwidth requirements since less data is sent to the cloud.

When designing and implementing an IaaS deployment, security should be a primary consideration. Some things to keep in mind include:

• Endpoint Security: With IaaS, the customer deploys their own VMs in the provider’s environment. These VMs need the same protection as any other endpoint, including secure configurations, antimalware, etc.
• Application Security: Within each of these VMs is likely various applications and their associated data. The organization should have processes and tools in place to ensure that these applications are updated and lack exploitable vulnerabilities.
• Access Control: Access management is a common challenge in the cloud, where users are granted unnecessary privileges and access to cloud resources. Access should be defined based on least privilege, granting users only the privileges needed for their role.
• Configuration Management: In IaaS and other cloud deployments, the cloud customer is responsible for managing various configuration settings within the provider’s platform. A configuration management strategy is essential to ensure that configurations remain in a secure state.
• Regulatory Compliance: Compliance in the cloud is complicated by limited visibility and a lack of access and control over an organization’s underlying infrastructure. Cloud customers should ensure that their provider is compliant with applicable regulations and have strategies in place to ensure that they can meet their compliance responsibilities as well.