In today’s Telecom Tuesday post we are going to talk about everything. Everything as a Service (EaaS) that is.
Everything as a Service
The “_____ as a Service” name is changing every day as more and more products, solutions, software, etc. become available on a “per user” level. The most well-known of these offerings to date is Software as a Service (SaaS) but other increasingly mainstream “as a Service” offerings include Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS). The concept behind the as a Service model is simple: instead of buying something (i.e., new phone system, server, data storage, new software, etc.) as has been done historically, now it is available to be downloaded over the internet on an as needed or individual user level and paid for monthly for as long (or short) as it is needed. The “as a Service” model is the essence of Cloud Computing.
The primary benefit of this model is that little or no capital expenditure is required upfront since the solution provider owns all equipment infrastructure, etc. and all costs are OPEX. Additional benefits include: low or no maintenance for internal staff, services are continuously updated with the newest versions and security patches, installations are as easy as a download click for most services, all services are monitored and maintained 24x7x365 offsite by external staff, solutions are scalable and customizable and users have access to data from any device (laptop, desktop, mobile or tablet), using any operating system from any location.
The downside to EaaS is very limited. Namely the cost of ownership goes up as your company grows (since there will be more users) and you will never own your own equipment. Most argue that as company size grows costs increase regardless of owning outright or not and that the additional benefits of EaaS far outweigh direct ownership.
Are you taking advantage of EaaS? Find out what is right for you by consulting with a professional.
[author_bio username=”Barry” name=”yes”]
