What You Need to Know Before You Move to IaaS
Best practices
In a world where remote work is the norm and data accessibility is vital, IT leaders are increasingly embracing infrastructure transformation. As a replacement for physical data centers, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provides cloud-based data and application storage solutions. By eliminating dependence on hardware, IaaS enables the flexibility IT teams need to support their businesses in a changing tech environment.
As cloud technology matures, cloud-based infrastructure has eclipsed reliance on self-hosted data centers. According to a Gartner report, the IaaS market grew 37.3% in 2019. And by the end of 2021, experts forecast growth will increase to $65 million in end-user spending.
So why are CIOs and IT leaders rapidly abandoning self-hosted infrastructure for IaaS? IaaS eliminates the physical limitations of in-house infrastructure to help companies remain responsive and competitive for long-term growth. Unlike on-premise data storage, cloud-based infrastructure instantly responds to changing storage needs and enables efficient system management. And with public, hosted, hybrid and multi-cloud options, IT teams can select IaaS services that meet their unique business needs.
With the right IaaS platform, you can more effectively align infrastructure management to your organizational goals. But because cloud migration demands high labor and software costs, successful IaaS integration requires careful upfront research and investment. Before you leverage the increased flexibility and scalability of IaaS, it’s key to evaluate IaaS options and the benefits of a strategic partner.
Navigating IT Infrastructure Modernization
Building an internal IT infrastructure to meet the demands of modern data management can prove costly and time consuming. In-house data storage requires capital investment in hardware, physical storage facilities and hands-on equipment support. Even after this high initial investment, scaling and updating your system requires redevelopment. This constant infrastructure maintenance can stagnate system growth, and limit your team’s ability to support other business endeavors.
The challenges of traditional self-storage solutions have driven more organizations to IaaS. According to IDG, the share of companies using on-premise infrastructure has dropped from 52% to 39%, with 48% shifting to cloud-based infrastructure. With IaaS services, a third-party provider manages your infrastructure, so you don’t have to build or update your storage, network, compute or backup from scratch. Even a partial transition to IaaS eradicates many of the elasticity and resource concerns IT teams face with in-house infrastructure.
But IaaS isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Four flexible IaaS options allow you to seamlessly integrate the platform that works best for your business:
1. Public IaaS
As a web-enabled service, public cloud IaaS platforms support a range of workloads and perform backups, compliance and maintenance procedures. With cloud services like Azure or AWS, IaaS providers are responsible for your infrastructure — so your IT team can focus on other priorities. A public cloud service also scales according to your needs and budget, enabling your infrastructure to grow with your organizational needs.
2. Hosted Private IaaS
With this cloud service, an off-premise cloud maintained by a service provider (like Ensono) stores your applications and data. Hosted private IaaS provides scalability and flexibility in a dedicated environment for companies that aren’t ready to migrate to the public cloud. And with single-tenant infrastructure, hosted private IaaS facilitates a secure, customized platform.
3. Hybrid IaaS Cloud
With a hybrid approach, organizations migrate some of their data and applications to the cloud while keeping select infrastructure on premises. This system allows companies to take advantage of IaaS where they need it and save software costs where they don’t.
4. Multi-Cloud IaaS
According to IDG, 55% of organizations use more than one public cloud. With this approach, businesses delegate workloads to different IaaS providers to take advantage of different provider specialties.
With the right IaaS services, you can scale infrastructure to meet the demands of your business, save development time and mitigate the challenges of on-premise solutions.
But optimizing your infrastructure with IaaS comes with costs. The learning curve associated with a new platform requires employee training — or new talent. In addition to increased labor costs, companies that choose IaaS also face recurring software payments.
You also might encounter challenges adopting the right platform for your business. With four options and migration levels to choose from, selecting the right platform for your business goals requires informed strategy. But selecting the best platform, deciding which assets to migrate and managing complex multi-cloud environments can easily drain your team’s resources.
Despite these barriers, a transition to hosted infrastructure can pay off, especially with the support of an informed strategy and an expert partner.
Choosing the Right IT Infrastructure Management Partner
Modernizing your infrastructure can be daunting. But with an IT partner, it’s possible to reap the benefits of IaaS without sacrificing other business goals.
As you make the leap to IaaS, IT experts can help mitigate training, software and implementation costs. A partner with experience migrating infrastructure can determine which cloud environment works best for you by accounting for your workload, budget and security needs. By establishing the right platform strategy from the start, you can reduce integration time and achieve faster optimization.
To decrease software costs, infrastructure experts should help you identify short- and long-term storage requirements. Proactive infrastructure monitoring with a strategic partner allows you to leverage the flexibility of the cloud — enabling you to optimize software spending by scaling storage only when needed.
With the right IT partner, you can strategically identify which assets should exist outside your IaaS platform. Ensure the scope of your migration is manageable with a knowledgeable expert that has expertise in both IaaS, and the applications and data that can reside outside the cloud. The right IT partner will also simplify Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity requirements and implementation. Essentially, a trusted partner can help optimize costs while ensuring perfect DR success-rate execution. As a result, you can minimize infrastructure payments and reduce the number of employees needed for infrastructure modernization.
Leveraging Ensono as Your Strategic IaaS partner
Building an IaaS migration plan with an IT partner helps you avoid overspending, lag time and talent drains so you can realize the benefits of modern cloud infrastructure. Regardless of the cloud platform that works best for your business, Ensono helps optimize your platform so you can achieve greater IaaS ROI.
With AWS MSP partner and Azure Expert MSP certifications, we have the expertise needed to optimize the public cloud for your infrastructure. And if your organization isn’t ready for a public environment, our hosted private cloud provides a customized private cloud built by industry experts. Whichever platform works best for your business, Ensono empowers accelerated optimization, reduced capital costs and business results.
When you decide to migrate to IaaS, you have to navigate an evolving cloud environment and changing business priorities. With deep market knowledge, technology expertise and extensive client experience, Ensono can guide you through the challenges of IaaS adoption.
Looking for expert strategy to inform your IaaS migration? Contact Ensono to learn more about our cloud infrastructure services.