As more business functions move to the cloud, it’s important to understand what cloud computing can do for your company (and what it’s doing for your competitors).

Cloud computing services come in three flavors: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Today we’ll focus on IaaS, where a third-party provider eliminates your need for expensive infrastructure by hosting the hardware, servers, storage, backup, software and more.

The main benefit of IaaS is that it enables growing businesses to scale their services more efficiently, for less than they’d spend upgrading, expanding or replacing their in-house infrastructure.

Currently, two vendors own the biggest chunk of the IasS market: Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Of course, there are plenty of others: Google, CenturyLink, VMware, Rackspace and more. But first-to-market Amazon Web Services is the “overwhelming market share leader” according to Gartner researchers, who describe it as “extraordinarily innovative, exceptionally agile, and very responsive to the market.” Pricing with Amazon Web Services can be complex, though. Many business owners opt for a third-party vendor to help manage costs and deployments, and make the most out of their IasS investment.

As for the second choice, Microsoft Azure also enjoys a significant market share. The product’s public cloud integrates with its on-premises management tools like Windows Server and Systems Center. Some features are not yet ready with Azure, though, and the service occasionally experiences outages. If using Azure for critical business functions, Gartner recommends deploying a backup disaster recovery plan as well.

You can view IasS research and related resources by Gartner right here. As always, we’re happy to answer questions, help dispel any confusion and pinpoint the best options for your business goals and challenges.

Call or email, and we’ll ensure you walk away with clarity and actionable insights.