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Everything as a Service: 7 New Service Types in the Cloud

Remember when cloud computing first appeared, there were only three delivery models and easily represented as a pyramid, which you’ve probably seen repeatedly. At the top of the pyramid is the SaaS – Software as a Service, which includes all kinds of applications and services that companies rent in strict accordance with the requests. The next in the pyramid is the PaaS – Platform as a Service, which includes more complex hierarchical structures – operating systems, database management, development and testing environment. And in the bottom of the pyramid is the IaaS, or infrastructure as a service, which is in essence, a virtualized data center.

But if you try to systematize the solutions existing on the market today, you’ll not be able to represent them in the form of a pyramid. This is because the cloud service models are too diverse. Therefore, I suggest you should  just look into this diversity and to try to understand the basic models of aaS today.

Logging as a Service (LaaS)

Accordance with national standards and safety – these are the key concepts in business for many companies around the world. Most of them log almost every action (i.e., store in log files), as this is needed for a future audit of the company. Service providers create cloud services for these businesses, which are able to store and process logs for auditing purposes in any environment. Even if you have a distributed data center, LaaS application helps to centralize the logging process.

Recovery as a Service (RaaS)

The first thing to understand in relation to this model is that the Recovery as a Service is not a BaaS, i.e. it is not a backup service. If using a backup you save all your data in the cloud and have access only to a monolithic image of their data, then RaaS is a fundamentally different model. RaaS gives access to individual files and applications, allowing you to quickly recover a particular service (ex. call center) in the event of an accident. Therefore, you’ll sometimes see the letter D in the model name – DRaaS, which stands for disaster recovery. Advantages of this model are clear: companies do not have to store the whole data in the cloud entirely – only critical parts. Of course, it is much cheaper.

Storage as a Service (STaaS)

This model is designed for large business, as for big companies produce large amount of data, which has become too much to store internally. Storing data in the cloud, you can count on the dynamic storage, growing in proportions as your needs grow. For example, the solution EMC Atmos offers storage platforms, object-based approach that enables users to access data, organize and archive them on a large scale. Strictly speaking, the basic idea of STaaS is the creation of a unified platform for data management.

Backend as a Service (BaaS)

Two years ago, the market of Backend as a Service was estimated at $ 216.5 million. This figure has increased significantly. What is BaaS? Imagine that your company develops applications that will run in the cloud. These applications need backend, i.e. user management, notifications, integration with social networks. Using BaaS, developers can quickly get all the necessary backend and platform for data storage and processing of applications. And considering that the mobile and cloud-based applications are gaining momentum, BaaS market will only grow in the near future.

Network as a Service (NaaS)

More and more workload previously taking place only within the office is moving to the cloud now. And all these new types of services, of course, put forward specific requirements on the network infrastructure. You can use the cloud VPN or engage in mobile virtualization – you will definitely need NaaS. With this type of service you can dynamically control the network load.

API as a Service (APIaaS)

Cloud applications have triggered a real boom of API. Along with their growing numbers, urgent need for interaction of these applications has arisen. But instead of writing your own API, why not use an existing service? The basic idea of such services is to create a powerful platform for the creation, storage and management of all kinds of API. These platforms are already appearing on the market.

Security as a Service (SECaaS)

Today, when companies are developing in the cloud, the cloud security becomes a very interesting business. Companies that provide their customers with cloud services based on a subscription model, are required to pledge protection in this model. This can be a cloud antivirus service or a service to detect threats. Anyway, the idea of SECaaS is to create proactive protection cloud environment.


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