What Is XaaS?

Today’s businesses have increased flexibility and more options than ever when it comes to their IT infrastructure. Rather than purchasing and maintaining software, hardware, and equipment, many businesses are embracing the revolution known as everything as a service (XaaS).

Keep reading to learn more about this developing field and how it can improve your business’ operations and profitability.

Is Everything as a Service (XaaS) the Future of IT?

Originally, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified three forms of cloud computing solutions. Those solutions are:

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS): A third party provides off-site IT infrastructure such as servers and datacenters
Platform as a Service (PaaS): Virtualized operating systems allow for streamlined development and deployment of software and applications
Software as a Service (SaaS): Users subscribe to a software application on a per-user or monthly basis and typically access their applications via the cloud or online

These traditional segments still make up the bulk of the cloud computing industry.

However, as more and more businesses realized the limitless potential of the cloud, they embraced the technology, and companies began building new solutions that strained the boundaries of the NIST’s three traditional IT segments. Eventually, IBM introduced the term “XaaS” in a 2014 blog article as an umbrella term to cover the growing number of options.

“As time goes by, more and more ‘as a service’ models are being introduced,” IBM solutions architect Taymour El Erian wrote. “Since there are so many of them, we can be said to be heading into the ‘X’ as a service or ‘XaaS’ era.”

Today, you can find subscription-based models for almost all your IT needs, from disaster recovery and data management to predictive maintenance. And XaaS is also broadening beyond the cloud. When you hail a ride via Lyft or Uber, you’re using a mobility as a service (MaaS) solution. Auto manufacturers like Volvo, BMW, Cadillac, and Lexus are also exploring MaaS.

While you might not need a luxury vehicle service for your business, XaaS includes a wide array of other offerings. For example, you can subscribe to services that provide equipment as a service (EaaS), letting you use machinery such as industrial printers, medical equipment, compressors, and office machines on an as-needed, pay-per-use basis.

The Benefits of Adopting XaaS

While XaaS isn’t for every business, there are distinct benefits to transitioning many of your operations to XaaS solutions.

Lower costs

Because your business does not purchase hardware, equipment, or software with a XaaS solution, you don’t have to deal with the costs of maintaining or replacing these systems. Instead, your service provider typically handles all maintenance, debugging, and updates.

XaaS can also create new efficiencies in your organization since your teams will have additional time and resources to focus on strategy rather than on supporting outdated hardware and applications.

Scalability and flexibility

As your business’ needs change, XaaS solutions can evolve with you. With SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, and other solutions, you can scale everything up or down to meet your current needs. Additionally, cloud solutions typically encourage increased collaboration, improve accessibility, and offer greater security compared to a traditional on-site solution.

For example, with Stratus Innovation Group’s Disaster Recovery as a Service for VMware and Hyper-V, businesses can complete a failover within as little as five minutes after a disaster. And teams can safely and easily access information from any device with our Virtual Datacenter Solution Offering.

Decreased maintenance

With connected equipment, remote diagnostic systems can identify potential issues and schedule proactive maintenance. Similarly, with a SaaS solution, your team doesn’t have to deal with burdensome software updates. Instead, your third-party service provider manages these issues for you.

If you’d like more information about XaaS or need help identifying the correct solutions for your team, contact Stratus Innovations Group for help. We’d love to hear more about your current operations, listen to your goals, and help you identify the right technologies and strategies for your business.

Stratus Innovations Group: Comprehensive XaaS Solutions for Businesses

Stratus Innovations Group can assist forward-thinking businesses and manufacturers with almost all their IT and XaaS needs. We build customized cloud solutions that deliver immediate and enduring business value. If you’d like to learn more about our innovative solutions and custom-tailored approach to XaaS, complete our online contact form or call us at 844-561-6721.

Reference

El Erian, T. (2014, October 31). The XaaS family: Understanding Iaas, PaaS and SaaS. IBM. Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com/blogs/cloud-computing/2014/10/31/xaas-family-iaas-paas-saas-explained/

Posted in Cloud Security, Virtual Data Centers, XaaS and tagged cloud solutions, IaaS, PaaS, saas