The digital universe is home to new jargons and buzzwords every other day. A recent one, which has gained tremendous popularity is “Cloud Computing”. The Cloud manifests its capabilities in a host of different ways, PaaS, IaaS and SaaS being the most prominent ones.
Businesses, both old and new, want to make sense of this “alphabet soup”. The terminology might seem intimidating at first, but the truth is that the concept behind them is fairly simple.
Cloud Computing is a latest technology that fuels the modern workplace. As the name suggests, the data or IT resources are stored on remote virtual spaces, or the Cloud. It involves the delivery of tools, applications and IT resources (servers, databases, software and networks etc.), over the internet.
Today, companies prefer to store their data in remote databases, through Cloud-based services, instead of local, on-premise storage devices. Cloud Service Providers (CSP) offer Cloud-based services and solutions that are secure, scalable, agile, and improve the overall productivity of an enterprise.
Since the applications and other computing services are stored on remote servers, users do not have to be physically confined to a particular space to access them. They let the Cloud do all the heavy lifting involved in data processing and other critical workloads. Being able to use a wide range of endpoint devices, end-users can concentrate on improving their performances and maximizing value for the enterprise.
Cloud Computing deployments can either be Private or Public. The Private Cloud services and solutions serve the specific needs of a single enterprise, creating ease and flexibility for just a few end users. Public Cloud services and solutions, on the other hand, deliver computing services to multiple tenants, over the internet. CSPs charge a certain fee for their services. There are Hybrid and Multi-Cloud options as well. They offer a combination or mixture of both the Public and Private Cloud.
The 3 Main Types of Cloud Services for Supply Chain
Cloud Computing is an all-encompassing technology that primarily comprises of the following three services.
1. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): Companies do not have to develop or install software for their use. CSPs deliver this software, as a service, over the internet. It works on the pay-as-you-go pricing model.
2. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): Companies source IT infrastructure, like Operating Systems (OS), servers, network and storage resources from IaaS providers on a “pay-as-you-go” basis. CSPs deliver these resources to the enterprise as an on-demand service.
3. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): PaaS is a Cloud Computing platform that helps enterprises develop and deploy their own software, and the services are delivered over the internet.
Enterprises need not fear the Cloud Computing “lingo”, and should definitely embrace this latest technology, as it will most certainly spell success for them.
The terms IaaS, PaaS and SaaS can rightly be equated to the Cloud Computing Supply Chain. Depending on the specific needs of an enterprise, a single one of the above, or even a combination of these can be adopted by an enterprise that wants to adopt Cloud Computing infrastructure(s).
With the massive success of Cloud Computing lately, the Cloud Supply Chain is expanding further in the direction of “Everything as a Service (XaaS)”. In the near future, we will see the emergence of Cloud Service Providers (CSP) that will specialize in much more granular / micro level needs of the modern enterprise.
Cloud Service Providers (CSP), like dinCloud, offer a wide array of Cloud Computing services and solutions for the constantly evolving needs of the modern enterprise.
