A Flavorful Foundation: Demystifying the Cloud
Just like clouds in the sky, the digital cloud comes in many “flavors.” It encompasses a vast range of technologies and services such as remote storage, data processing, and virtual infrastructure.
End-users are on pace to spend $180 billion in 2015 on the cloud. (1)
Who Knows?
Cloud computing makes it easier to implement technologies without knowing how they work. In one 2012 survey: (2)
3 in 10 respondents didn’t know what “the cloud” was. (2)
Only 16% knew the correct answer (2)
Even still, 95% used cloud technologies daily. (2)
A Cloud for All Seasons
Three important flavors are game changers in understanding how to approach the cloud:
Software As A Service – SAAS
SAAS applications are designed for end-users and deployed online, like email, productivity or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. SAAS is (3):
- On-demand and remotely available. (3)
- Centrally managed and maintained. (3)
- Delivered in a “one to many” model. (3)
- May be integrated via API (Application Programming Interfaces) (3)
Significant in SAAS:
Salesforce: First in CRM with over 2.5 million users.(1,4)
Microsoft: Estimated 630 billion business users.(5)
Intuit: 4 million small business users.(5)
Appropriately Soft
SAAS is suited for:
- Email and productivity.(3)
- Software to manage customer interactions.(3)
- High availability services.(3)
- Accounting and billing software.(3)
Platform As A Service – PAAS
PAAS incorporates middleware – software used to facilitate deployment of applications. Used for rapid prototyping and low-maintenance development, PAAS:
- Is a foundation for web applications.(3)
- Consists of web-based UI creation tools.(3)
- Enables rapid deployment of apps and services.(3)
- Integrates with common web services, databases, and technologies.(3)
Popular PAAS Platforms:
Salesforce: Over 650 million data transactions per day. (6)
Google: App engine has over 200,000 developers (6)
Cloud Foundry: Open source PAAS actively maintained by 2,100 developers.(6)
Take a PAAS
Consider Platform As A Service if you:
- Value rapid deployment.(3)
- Work in teams.(3)
- Use proprietary data sources.(3)
- Require accessibility by non-developers.(7)
Infrastructure as a Service – IAAS
Infrastructure As A Service provides computing resources like storage and server bandwidth on-demand. IAAS:
- Is scalable resources distributed as a service.(3)
- Is highly available through automation.(3)
- Uses a utility pricing model.(3)
- Sacrifices convenience of SAAS and PAAS for flexibility.(8)
Metered Microprocessors – IAAS products are operational expenses for tax purposes.
Shifting IT from assets to expenditures is a major influence in IAAS adoption.(3,9)
IAAS by the numbers:
IBM: Owns 35% of the enterprise market share.(10)
Amazon Web Services: 5 times larger than its biggest competitor.(11)
Google Cloud: 14 minutes of downtime in all of 2014(.11)
Hard Case
When is IAAS the right choice?
- Unpredictable demand.(3)
- Avoid infrastructure spending.(3)
- Short term infrastructure.(3)
- When migrating into the cloud.(12)
Everyone Else is Doing It
Organizations use an average of 545 cloud-based services. (1)
Cloud spending is growing at a rate of 30%. (15)
According to a 2015 survey:
- 93% of enterprises polled use the cloud for business.(13)
- 55% of companies’ non-cloud infrastructure was cloud API-friendly. (13)
- 82 percent of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy.(13)
- 7 in 10 enterprises were using IAAS. (14)
- Most PAAS subscribers also use IAAS.(13)
UP: By 2018, SAAS Cloud Workloads will hold 59% of the growing cloud marketplace .(15)
SAAS 2015 : 41% (15)
DOWN: IAAS cloud workloads in 2013: 44% (15)
IAAS 2018 (projection): 28% (15)
Despite losing market share, the IAAS industry will nearly double in size by 2018 (15)
Making the Right Choice
- Calculate the net cost or benefit of any transition to the cloud. (16)
- Be mindful of security and risk analysis (16)
- Vet mission critical service providers carefully. (16)
- Invest in services that compliment your ability to support, or not support them internally. (16)
Sources:
1. http://siliconangle.com/blog/2014/01/27/20-cloud-computing-statistics-tc0114
2. http://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2012/08/29/most-americans-dont-understand-cloud-computing-does-it-really-matter
3. http://www.rackspace.com/knowledge_center/whitepaper/understanding-the-cloud-computing-stack-saas-paas-iaas
4. https://www.quora.com/Who-are-the-top-SaaS-companies-in-the-world-by-revenues
5. http://www.cbronline.com/news/cloud/aas/head-in-the-clouds-top-10-saas-providers-for-business-4491647
6. http://www.networkworld.com/article/2288002/cloud-computing/10-most-powerful-paas-companies.html
7. http://www.interoute.com/what-paas
8. https://apprenda.com/library/paas/iaas-paas-saas-explained-compared
9. http://www.securityweek.com/three-categories-cloud-computing-whats-your-flavor
10. http://www.cloudcomputing-news.net/news/2014/may/13/idc-claims-ibm-vendor-choice-us-enterprise-iaas-market/
11. http://www.networkworld.com/article/2866950/cloud-computing/which-cloud-providers-had-the-best-uptime-last-year.html
12. http://cloudtweaks.com/2013/01/paas-and-iaas-rising-champions-of-cloud-computing/
13 .http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2015/03/04/new-stats-from-the-state-of-cloud-report/
14. http://www.rightscale.com/blog/cloud-industry-insights/iaas-vs-paas-2015-cloud-trends-state-cloud-survey
15. http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2015/01/24/roundup-of-cloud-computing-forecasts-and-market-estimates-2015/
16. http://www.zdnet.com/article/cloud-computing-demystifying-iaas-paas-and-saas/