Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a type of cloud computing service that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. IaaS is one of the three main categories of cloud computing services, alongside Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS).
IaaS is highly scalable and is typically used by organizations to build and manage their infrastructure, applications, services, and data on a pay-as-you-go basis. This allows companies to pay for exactly what they use, when they use it, without the need to invest in physical infrastructure.
The primary components of IaaS include virtual machines, servers, storage, load balancers, and networks, but it can also include the delivery of operating systems, databases, or middleware. Users can avoid the complexity and cost of buying and managing their own physical servers and other data center infrastructure, as the cloud provider hosts and manages these resources for them.
Key benefits of IaaS include:
- Scalability: With IaaS, resources can be scaled up or down quickly based on demand.
- Cost-effectiveness: It eliminates the upfront cost of setting up and managing an onsite data center, making it an economical option for startups and businesses testing new ideas.
- Business continuity and disaster recovery: Being in the cloud, it is easier and less expensive to backup and restore data, contributing to business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
- Focus on business growth: With IaaS, the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure is handled by the cloud service provider, enabling businesses to focus on their core competencies and growth.
Examples of IaaS providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and IBM Cloud.