"Anything as a Service" or "Everything as a Service."
XaaS, or "Anything as a Service," represents the comprehensive and evolving suite of services and applications delivered to users via the internet. This paradigm encompasses a wide array of cloud-based solutions, transcending traditional boundaries to include software, infrastructure, platforms and more.
There are numerous types of XaaS:
- Software as a service
- Platform as a service
- Infrastructure as a service
- Storage as a service
- Mobility as a service
- Database as a service
- Communications as a service
- Network as a service
- .. and this list goes on by each passing day
Most familiar and known services in Cloud Computing :
- Software as a service
- Platform as a service
- Infrastructure as a service
Software as a service:
SaaS, or "Software as a Service," is a cloud-based delivery model in which software applications are hosted by a service provider and made accessible to customers over the internet. This model allows users to access software on a subscription basis, eliminating the need for traditional on-premises installations and maintenance.
Eg: Google Workspace, Salesforce, Microsoft Office 365, Slack and Dropbox.
Infrastructure as a Service:
IaaS, or "Infrastructure as a Service," is a cloud computing model that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. This model allows businesses to rent or lease servers, storage, networking and other fundamental computing resources from a third-party provider, instead of investing in and maintaining physical hardware.
Eg : Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
Platform as a Service:
PaaS, or "Platform as a Service," is a cloud computing model that provides a comprehensive environment for developing, testing, deploying and managing applications. This model delivers a full development and deployment platform, including operating systems, middleware, development frameworks, database management systems and infrastructure, over the internet. PaaS enables developers to focus on writing code and creating applications without worrying about underlying infrastructure, allowing for faster development cycles and more efficient resource utilization.
Eg: Google App Engine, Microsoft Azure App Services and Heroku
What kind of XaaS is OCI ?
In essence, while OCI is primarily known for its IaaS capabilities which includes computing, storage, networking, database and more, allowing businesses to run virtually any workload in the cloud, it also encompasses PaaS and SaaS offerings.
OCI acts as PaaS by providing a platform for developers to build, deploy and manage applications without dealing with the underlying infrastructure. Services include Oracle Autonomous Database, Oracle Integration, Oracle Application Development, etc.
OCI acts as SaaS with Oracle ERP Cloud, Oracle HCM Cloud and Oracle CX Cloud,etc. delivering enterprise software solutions over the internet.
Benefits of XaaS over traditional on- prem. computing:
- Improved expense models and ease of deployment: The two main reasons for increasing demand for anything as a service are improved expense models and ease of deployment, both of which are factors that can influence business continuity during difficult times such as COVID-19.
- Speedy remote implementation: As remote work gains an increasingly solid foothold in global corporate strategy, speedy remote implementation of new business processes and applications, and moving IT resources away from remote system management toward more valuable projects are the needs of the hour and XaaS is best suited to fulfill these needs.
- Minimized costs: Companies find XaaS appealing because it allows them to minimize costs by directly purchasing business services from providers through a subscription-based model. What’s more, XaaS also allows direct delivery of these services to employee endpoints using only a username and password—a separate installation by the IT team is not required.
- Easy implementation: XaaS
providers have used cloud delivery platforms to revolutionize how
businesses purchase software products and services. Before XaaS,
companies had to:
- Acquire and pay for individual solutions such as servers, cybersecurity solutions, and other infrastructure
- Have them installed onsite by a technician or specialist
- Commission a team of experts to link up existing infrastructure with the new arrivals to create networks
- Quick and cost-effective adoption: Especially in these uncertain market conditions created by the pandemic, XaaS models enable corporations to swiftly adapt to dynamic industry trends through quick and cost-effective adoption of the latest business solutions.
- Flexibility: Multitenant approaches enable cloud service vendors to provide flexibility to clients, while resource pooling and speedy & elastic support allow management teams to simply adopt new services or decommission existing ones as per their business requirements.
- Access to the latest technologies: With XaaS, organizations can access the latest technologies quickly and automate the scaling-up or scaling-down of their infrastructure as and when required.
- Streamlined IT operations: In the initial days of the pandemic, when companies started rapidly shifting to a WFH model, most available IT resources, regardless of specialization, were dedicated to adapting enterprise network infrastructure to suit remote working. As such, higher-value projects fell by the wayside. However, the XaaS delivery model has helped many companies worldwide streamline IT operations again and enable resources to regain focus on innovation.
- Digital transformation: The benefits of XaaS are manifold for IT. Last year, several organizations leveraged XaaS to transform themselves digitally and boost their IT agility. A report by Deloitte states that more than 7 out of every ten companies have adopted XaaS for over 50% of their IT needs. With XaaS, more users gain access to the latest technologies, thus fostering innovation.
- Reduction in the need for resources: Apart from cost-cutting and simplified deployments, companies have also developed a preference for the XaaS model because it enables them to decommission cumbersome onsite IT infrastructure such as hard drives, servers, and network switches. This, of course, translates to lower overheads due to a reduction in the need for power, cooling, equipment space, IT staffing, and troubleshooting.
Organizations are definitely increasingly seeing XaaS as a viable option to address current difficulties in doing business. Research by IMARC projects a valuation of $344.3 billion for the global XaaS market by 2024, expanding at a high CAGR of 24% from 2019 to 2024. Even companies that were unsure of adopting XaaS before the emergence of the pandemic due to concerns of compliance, security and business governance are coming around, especially as they witness vendors address these concerns rapidly and efficiently across industries.
Enterprises are increasingly seeing XaaS as a game-changer. XaaS-centric business models have the potential to reach a broader customer base, encourage the delivery of client-focused products and services, enable efficient exploration of new markets and ease profit-making activities.
Trends to watch out for..
Amplified big data operations
With a majority of consumer activities having shifted online, the phrase ‘data is the new oil’ has never rung more true than during the pandemic and XaaS solutions perfectly complement big data operations. As customer bases across industries generate ever-increasing amounts of data, gaining valuable insights into how their products and services are used is one of the most compelling reasons for organizations to adopt XaaS.
Easy access to cutting-edge technology
Technology is a defining staple of modern workplaces. Any company that fails to keep up with the latest tech trends risks its profitability and continuity. However, not every enterprise has the liquidity required for a complete overhaul of its existing infrastructure and swift implementation of the latest technological business solutions, especially repeatedly as technology evolves continuously. However, XaaS solutions enable companies of all sizes to access high-level services that would otherwise be too expensive to implement from scratch.
Improved and efficient regulatory compliance
For traditional IT infrastructure, it is not enough simply to buy, set up and maintain new technologies ever so often. Companies must also secure their existing infrastructure and ensure that this security is not compromised due to vulnerabilities arising from new technological additions or recently developed cyber threats. This issue almost completely disappears for those companies that adopt XaaS solutions. Instead of relying on client-side due diligence, most XaaS vendors take it upon themselves to ensure that robust cybersecurity measures are implemented for their products and services.
And with regulatory bodies across the globe implementing customer-centric policies to ensure that data privacy and associated rights of their constituents are upheld, it becomes easier for XaaS providers to simply ensure compliance at their end rather than expecting client companies to use their services in accordance to applicable regulations.
That all being said the agility offered by XaaS enables companies to virtualize platforms, people and processes, thereby enhancing profitability. The revolutionary ‘pay-as-you-go’ model of XaaS is especially suited to the dynamic market needs, which have become even more pronounced due to the ongoing pandemic. This model provides the flexibility to scale resources based on demand, optimizing costs and improving operational efficiency. Moreover, the rapid global adoption of cloud computing and high-speed internet, combined with increasingly informed consumers, positions XaaS solutions as the ideal choice for the future of business operations.
