Infrastructure and Desktop as a Service

IaaS and DaaS are two of the most popular solutions in the cloud today.  Both models leverage a shared infrastructure to deliver an optimal solution in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

What is Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)?

Instead of housing your data on your own servers at an on-site location, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) allows users to host data on a virtualized, high-powered, and shared infrastructure in a colocation facility.  In simpler terms, we carve out the resources that you need to run your business efficiently on the cloud.  By combining resources, you gain financial and performance-driven economies of scale.

What is Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS)?

DaaS is a close relative to IaaS. But instead of provisioning servers that you can use, a DaaS solution provides the user with an actual desktop powered by Citrix.  Independent of the device, location, or time, a user can log in via a browser and work from his or her full desktop.  This powerful solution greatly simplifies the logistical concerns of hosted offerings.

What are the benefits of IaaS and DaaS?

• Peace of Mind:  Rest easy knowing that your data is in a secure, redundant, and powerful environment.  The data center technologies leveraged in the cloud far exceed the performance capabilities of what a small business would use on their own.
• Flexible Provisioning:  Pay as you go and turn up or down services as you need them.  Instead of building out a server infrastructure with extra capacity to meet future needs, the cloud allows your storage environment grow as your business requirements shift.  Pay for what you need, at any given point in time.
• Business Continuity:  Most small-to-medium sized organizations house their server infrastructures in a single, vulnerable location.  While this is normally sufficient, there is an inherit risk to this approach.  By leveraging multiple Tier III or IV data centers – which are secure and equipped with multiple power and carrier sources – IaaS and DaaS can provide an additional level of resiliency.  In other words, you will no longer lose your services if you lose power.  Companies can also avoid suffering business-critical data loss in the event of a catastrophic disaster.
• Eliminated Capital Expenses:  There’s no need to purchase servers and license software, plan for future expenses, or spend weeks preparing for an upgrade.  Instead, services can be delivered via a predictable, consistent, per-user, monthly cost.
• Risk Mitigation:  What’s the cost of losing services for an extended period of time?  IaaS and DaaS can mitigate the risk of a crippling hardware failure affecting your organization by providing more redundancy than a classic on-premise solution.
• Scalability:  User counts can be adjusted seamlessly on a month-by-month basis by simply adding additional licenses.  Don’t be constrained by hardware limitations that often suppress growth in classic computing models.
• Unlimited Flexibility / Remote Connectivity:  Since data is hosted in the cloud, users can seamlessly work from any location that has internet access.  Users are not required to be on a physical LAN or connect to the main office through a VPN connection.  Data and files can be accessed anywhere with an internet connection.
• Enterprise Solution, Serving You:  The server infrastructures in Data Centers typically provide robust solutions that would otherwise be reserved for the largest firms in the world.  By leveraging economies of scale, you can gain access to these powerful tools.