The cloud has become extremely popular in the business world, and it’s only going to become more prevalent in the future. The vast majority (83%) of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by 2020, according to LogicMonitor’s Cloud Vision 2020: The Future of the Cloud Study.
The rise of cloud-based solutions has led to the phenomenon of Everything as a Service, or XaaS. Everything from software to infrastructure to disaster recovery and beyond is now available from cloud providers as a service. XaaS is “the next big cloud opportunity,” with research revealing growing demand for managed security, cyber-disaster recovery, hosting, and networking services, according to 451 Research.
The Reasons Behind the Rise of XaaS
Cloud-based services offer businesses a number of advantages compared to on-premise solutions. Here are a few key reasons why a growing number of companies have embraced the XaaS trend.
1. Cost containment. Cloud services can help companies looking to cut costs, since installing and maintaining an on-premise solution often comes at a much higher price than paying a cloud provider to deliver a service.
2. Flexibility. Using cloud services gives businesses the ability to scale up and down relatively quickly and easily to meet changing needs, compared to on-premise solutions.
3. Less hardware. Although it’s always wise to have backups, relying on cloud-hosted services means companies don’t need as much physical hardware on-site.
4. Accessibility. One of the most compelling advantages of cloud-based services is that they’re widely accessible. For instance, employees can access a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution whether they’re working in the office, from home or on the road.
5. Easy set-up. Because of the lack of hardware and manageability via the Internet, the process of implementing cloud-based services is relatively simple.
It’s also worth noting that cloud services are particularly appealing to smaller businesses that lack the budget and staff to install and manage on-premise solutions. Third-party services and the scalability they offer represent a “big game-changer” for small and mid-size organizations, according to the CIO article “Everything-as-a-Service: Seizing the next big cloud opportunity on the horizon.” Outsourcing lets smaller organizations free up time and funds for other strategic business initiatives.
Could Cloud Services Benefit Your Business?
It’s important to remember that while cloud-based solutions and services have plenty of advantages and have helped many companies improve their operations, not every cloud offering is right for every business. You’ll need to consider your unique goals and needs when deciding which (if any) cloud services are right for our organization.
If you need help deciding what cloud offerings would benefit your business the most, our team of expert consultants can assist you in finding services and solutions that make the most sense for your organization, taking your requirements and goals into account. We use a vendor agnostic approach, and we have extensive experience with numerous IT solutions and cloud providers. If you’d like to learn more, feel free to call us at 877-599-3999 or email us at sales@stratosphernetworks.com.
