What is IaaS?

IaaS definition: how does it work?

Infrastructure as-a-Service involves outsourcing IT resources to a cloud service provider. The provider hosts the hardware, software and network (bandwidth, IP addresses, etc.) in one of its datacentres. They maintain it, and deliver the infrastructure’s performance to their customers via their network (public or private).

However, the user retains control over their projects and their data. Although the provider is responsible for maintaining the hardware, the customer is responsible for managing the applications and services hosted on it. They must also be able to organise their virtual infrastructure to optimise their own projects (virtualisation, containerisation, etc.).

The Infrastructure-as-a-Service billing model works on a pay-as-you-go basis — you only pay for what you use. Rates are generally calculated on an hourly, daily or monthly basis, depending on the nature of the services used.

Different types of Infrastructure as-a-Service for your projects

Public IaaS includes the resources that all the provider’s customers can use. It is a catalogue of services that users order to fit their needs.

Private IaaS is like creating a virtual private datacentre for a customer. All of the resources present are dedicated to the user.

Hybrid IaaS is a combination of the two previous versions. With a hybrid IaaS solution, the user can maintain control over their critical applications and services, while getting on-demand resources to meet specific requirements.
 

These three types of IaaS offer a wide range of possibilities:

• Developing and testing software.
• Hosting one or more complex websites.
• Building a recovery network for your data (backups and storage).
• Deploying web applications.
• Setting up machine learning programmes.
• Implementing big data processing.

Why choose Infrastructure as-a-Service?

There are several advantages to outsourcing or migrating your IT infrastructure to a service provider:

• Since the maintenance of your cloud infrastructure is the cloud provider’s responsibility, you can focus on your core business.
   
• Cloud technology is highly scalable, so you can add the resources you need, whenever you need them. This means you can be highly responsive to traffic spikes. It also makes it easier to scale your IT resources for your projects.
   
• You retain control of your sensitive data.
   
• IaaS offers great predictability in managing your budget. With pay-as-you-go billing, you can anticipate your IT expenses.
   
• Since the provider’s mission is to upgrade their solutions, you will benefit from the latest market innovations for your projects.
   
• You get optimal security for your business continuity. IaaS providers are typically bound by a Service Level Agreement (SLA), which means they must protect your IT services to ensure their availability. They also facilitate access to your data in the event of an incident.

Who uses IaaS solutions?

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing solution that offers on-demand virtual computing resources. This model is used by a variety of companies and organizations for a variety of reasons.

Startups and small businesses

Startups and small businesses find IaaS solutions particularly attractive. By utilizing IaaS, they can access a robust IT infrastructure without the high upfront costs associated with hardware purchase and maintenance. This allows these companies to focus on their development and growth without worrying about infrastructure spending. The flexibility of the IaaS model also allows them to adjust resources to meet changing needs, which is crucial for growing businesses.

Large companies

Large companies also use IaaS for its ability to provide a scalable and reliable IT infrastructure. They can quickly deploy applications and services at scale without worrying about hardware constraints. In addition, IaaS solutions offer advanced management, enhanced security, and compliance options, which are essential for businesses operating in regulated industries. These companies also benefit from reduced operational costs and simplified management of their IT infrastructure.

Developers and development teams

Developers and development teams are among the main users of IaaS solutions. They enable companies to build, test, and deploy applications quickly and efficiently. Developers can set up development and test environments in minutes, speeding up the application development cycle. In addition, IaaS offers a wide variety of tools and services that make software development and deployment easier, making the process smoother and cheaper.

Businesses in digital transformation

Businesses undergoing digital transformation are also adopting IaaS to modernize their IT infrastructure. This allows them to integrate new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and data analysis, without the constraints of a traditional infrastructure. IaaS offers them a flexible, scalable foundation on which to develop new solutions and improve their competitiveness on the market.

IT Service Providers

IT service providers use IaaS solutions to deliver cloud services to their customers. By leveraging IaaS, they can provide customized and flexible solutions, tailored to each customer’s specific needs. This allows them to focus on adding value, rather than managing the infrastructure.

IaaS applications

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a key component of cloud computing, offering unparalleled flexibility and scalability. The areas of application of IaaS are numerous and varied, meeting the needs of different sectors.

Software development and testing:

One of the most common areas for using IaaS is software development and testing. Developers can create development and test environments quickly and efficiently, without having to invest in costly physical infrastructure. Thanks to IaaS, they can clone production environments to test applications in real-world conditions, guaranteeing better quality and reduced bugs.

Websites and applications hosting

Hosting websites and applications is another key application area for IaaS. Companies can deploy their websites and applications on virtual servers provided by IaaS providers, ensuring optimal availability and performance. IaaS solutions also offer automatic scalability options, allowing businesses to adapt their resources to suit traffic and user needs.

Data analytics and big data

IaaS is widely used in the field of data analytics and big data. Businesses can process large amounts of data using flexible compute and storage resources. IaaS solutions also enable complex analytics and valuable insights to be generated without having to invest in expensive infrastructure. What’s more, they offer scalability to process growing volumes of data efficiently.

Data backup and recovery

IaaS solutions play a crucial role in data backup and recovery strategies. They offer secure, scalable storage options for business-critical data. In the event of a disaster, organizations can quickly recover data and restore operations, minimizing disruption and loss. IaaS can also be used to build effective business continuity and disaster recovery solutions.

Production and ERP environments

Companies also use IaaS to host their production environments and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. This provides them with a reliable, high-performance infrastructure for their critical operations. IaaS solutions offer guaranteed availability and performance, as well as advanced management options to keep business applications and systems running smoothly.

Virtual networks and VPN

IaaS enables the creation of virtual networks and virtual private networks (VPNs) for businesses. These virtual networks ensure secure communication between different sites and offices, enabling efficient and secure collaborative work. In addition, IaaS solutions offer advanced network configuration and management options, tailored to the specific needs of each business.

How it differs from PaaS and SaaS

IaaS, together with PaaS and SaaS, are the three main types of cloud service available on the market.

PaaS (Platform as-a-Service) is a platform that the service provider delivers to its customers. The service provider is responsible for hardware maintenance, and the user only pays for their use of the platform. This type of cloud service is generally intended for developers and programmers. Since they need support for their business, they can focus on their tasks without having to worry about the infrastructure. The cloud platform is a service that simplifies the day-to-day work of experts.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a solution for using a web application managed by the cloud provider. The provider manages software updates, patches and monitoring. The user can access their software via a dashboard or API. The main advantage of this mode is that it is easy for all users to access the cloud application. This means you do not need to install it locally on a common terminal — you only need to manage your teams’ user licences.

IaaS by OVHcloud

We offer different types of Infrastructure as-a-Service solutions.

• Public Cloud: brings together secure cloud solutions for all your needs, from standard deployment to large-scale deployment. Get an easy-to-use on-demand model with transparent billing. With this public cloud solution, you get additional resources for your projects (container orchestration software, data storage, analytics tools, etc.).
   
• Hosted Private Cloud: Your private datacentre, managed by our experts. You get high-performance solutions for your infrastructure. With VMware, you can virtualise your environments in our datacentres around the world in a simple, optimised way. This private cloud solution is also SecNumCloud certified, guaranteeing an optimal level of security for your data.
   
• Hybrid Cloud: Get our scalable cloud solution, combined with the power of bare metal. For your most advanced projects which require performance and high availability, you can rely on this custom hybrid cloud architecture. With this flexible model, you can get optimal capacities (CPU, RAM, disk space, network, etc.) for systems and applications with high workloads.

For more than 20 years, we have been working to create a sovereign European cloud. By hosting your data on the OVHcloud trusted cloud, you retain total control of it. Join our ecosystem of providers, partners and customers, and we can move forward together towards a responsible cloud.