Infrastructure as a Service is a cloud computing model for delivering IT services in which the provider assembles computing infrastructure, often in the form of virtual machines, and makes it available to the customer over the internet. IaaS providers offer customers an on-demand self-service platform that enables them to deploy and manage applications without purchasing or maintaining hardware or software.
SEE: What Is the Difference between Cloud Computing and Virtualization? (TechRepublic)
What is Infrastructure as a Service?
If you think of your organization’s IT infrastructure as a house, then IaaS would be the equivalent of renting that house rather than owning it outright. With IaaS, businesses can rent access to the physical or virtual resources they need to build and run applications and store data. These resources can include things like servers, storage, networking components, and virtualization.
IaaS providers maintain the physical infrastructure, the hypervisor layer, and security features. The enterprise remains responsible for operating systems, middleware, runtime environment, data, and enterprise applications.
It is gaining popularity. Some studies estimate the IaaS market will exceed $481.8 billion by 2030, as organizations look for ways to cut costs and increase agility.
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Benefits of IaaS
There are several positives that make it an attractive option.
Cost savings
Running an enterprise application on traditional on-premises IT infrastructure requires a comprehensive stack of hardware, operating systems, middleware, and application software. This is costly, and the organization bears all the responsibility for building and managing the infrastructure.
With IaaS, the business doesn’t have to own the IT resources to make productive use of them. In addition, most IaaS providers offer a pay-as-you-go pricing model, which allows businesses to only pay for the resources they use.
However, there is a caveat to the cost-benefit. Unexpected expenses can include low usage of cloud instances, application migrations that don’t adjust architecture for cloud infrastructure, and unattached storage left alive when instances are disabled.
Removes burden of IT management
With traditional on-premises infrastructure, companies must purchase, install, configure, and manage all the hardware and software needed to run their applications. This requires a team of skilled IT professionals who could be costly to maintain.
With IaaS, the provider manages all the infrastructure, which frees up the business’s IT team to focus on other tasks. This can help a company improve its competitiveness.
Scalability
Businesses can add or remove resources as their needs change. This can be a major advantage for companies that experience fluctuating demand or need to respond to changes in their environment quickly.
Flexibility and agility
IaaS gives businesses the option to choose the type and quantity of resources they require, as well as the location where those resources will be deployed. It also helps companies become more agile by quickly deploying new applications or services without going through a lengthy procurement process.
SEE: Disadvantages of Virtualization in Cloud Computing (TechRepublic)
Drawbacks of IaaS
Despite its advantages, IaaS does have some negatives.
Lack of control
When businesses outsource the management of their IT infrastructure to a third-party provider, they are no longer in control of it. This can be an issue for companies with specific compliance or governance requirements.
For example, data sovereignty laws may require businesses to store their data in a certain location. A company using an IaaS provider may have difficulty pinpointing the location of its data. This creates a risk that the business may not comply with its legal or regulatory obligations.
Security
Because businesses don’t have direct control and lack clear visibility over their infrastructure, they may be less able to protect it from threats. This is a major concern for companies that handle sensitive data.
However, there are instances when an IaaS provider may actually provide the organization with a better security posture than they could achieve on their own due to technical and resource constraints.
SEE: Virtualization Policy (TechRepublic Premium)
Features of IaaS
Not every provider offers the same features, but when implementing IaaS, there are certain features to look for:
- Storage: Consider types, such as object, block, and file storage; and features, such as backup and restore.
- Compute: Evaluate the compute instances offered and features like autoscaling, load balancing, and monitoring.
- Databases: Consider the types of databases that are supported.
- Networking: Evaluate the types of networks supported and features like firewall configuration and VPN access.
- Security: Consider features like identity and access management, data encryption, and activity logging.
- Disaster recovery: Look for features like backup and recovery and the provider’s SLAs.
- Service throughput: What is the speed between data centers, storage, virtual machines, and applications?
At the end of the evaluation, you must factor in customer support and pricing. The IaaS provider’s customer service must be available when you need it and responsive, while the pricing model must be unambiguous. IaaS is a big decision for any business, so you want to make sure you are selecting the provider that best meets your needs.
SEE: What Is Platform as a Service? (TechRepublic)
Further reading
If you want to read more about this topic, there are many cloud-related articles at TechRepublic here.
TechRepublic Premium also offers cloud-related glossaries, hiring kits, policies, and checklists to enhance the work of IT and HR departments.
This article was originally published in October 2022. It was updated by Antony Peyton in June 2025.
