Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service, Cloud Computing is Becoming the Way Business is Done.

Even as recent as five years ago there were concerns about cloud computing.

1. Will it take our jobs?
2. Is it wise for our business to be even more dependent on internet access?
3. Is it secure?

However, every day we see the technology grow, becoming more versatile with ever-evolving security measures and practices and ever-increasing benefits. The Key Benefits of IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) and PaaS (Platform as a Service) are:

No Maintenance

Of course this always leads to the concern “Will it take our jobs?” The answer is a resounding “No.” Instead, this will enable employees to focus on things other than hardware, such as security auditing, software monitoring and other revenue generating applications. Competent IaaS providers keep current with the fastest and most reliable server speeds and stay up to date with the best hardware, eliminating the need for IT teams to worry about the “next big thing.”

Using a PaaS keeps your OS up to date relieving the burden on your staff of making sure your servers are secured from the latest threats by applying patches, hotfixes, and updates. Reducing these time-consuming maintenance issues decreases cost and encourages a better work-life balance for your stressed IT employees making them more productive, which will increase revenue.

Easy Access

Along with far easier access and sharing of files, documents, and databases comes the concern “Is it wise to be so dependent on internet access?” Most IaaS centers have a guaranteed uptime of 99.999% (also known as the “Five Nines”) and have redundancies to ensure your employees have the flexibility to continue operating from wherever and whenever they need.

Having infrastructure offsite, preferably somewhere with few potential natural disasters, makes data recovery significantly easier should the need arise. Downtime due to unforeseen catastrophes could be nonexistent as onsite personnel can move to a safer location (or just stay home) and still have access maintaining productivity. So yeah, it’s wise.

Higher Level of Security

“Is it secure?” Enter FISMA, Fedramp, EMP protection, SCIFF, NIST and a bunch of other acronyms that begin to sound redundant. But that’s the point, isn’t it? In March 2016, the Cloud Security Alliance released a list it called “The Treacherous Twelve” which detailed the top twelve threats to cloud security, and data breaches were at the top of the list.

When cloud computing providers are not employing adequate security measures, they become targets for cybercrime. All the major breaches within the past few years were avoidable had the proper measures been in place.

However, even with the adequate security measures, how can we claim a “higher level of security?” If an employee loses a laptop or mobile device, all information stored in the cloud is still accessible, even if the employee is thousands of miles away, using another device. The lost laptop can then be locked out of the cloud securing your information from the wrong hands. This isn’t possible if information is stored locally.

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.