Why Enterprises Can’t Pass Up PaaS and DBaaS
Gartner reports that cloud infrastructure investments are expected to grow by more than 80% by 2023. As enterprises mature in their utilization of cloud services, they are getting beyond infrastructure and applications, pushing more areas of IT into the cloud, including platform as a service (PaaS) and database as a service (DBaaS).
Why are enterprises expanding their cloud services to include PaaS and DBaaS?
In many cases, the conversation begins by centering on costs; cloud services tend to be more cost-effective than housing services on site. Eventually, in most cases, the consideration becomes much broader, centering on an awareness that the level of connectivity, data access, and analytics necessary to compete are beyond the reach of what can be accomplished in-house.
Whether it’s a financial advising firm requiring large data storage and processing power, or a call center that wants to improve customer experiences with artificial intelligence-fueled call routing, there is an explosion of demand for cost-effective, powerful database management.
The shift to PaaS and DBaaS means a lot of disruption and change, as well as a steep learning curve, for the typical database administrator. It also means a lot of opportunities, as well as a new role for data in the spotlight, driving new business. Here are some reasons why it’s worth it for enterprises to embrace technologies like PaaS and DBaaS:
Security and Compliance: Managing security and compliance on-site, across multiple platforms and cloud providers, is a challenge for enterprises, but cloud offerings are increasingly including features that manage these challenges. Cloud data centers are being built with security and high resilience prioritized.
Cost: Enterprises move to infrastructure as a service (IaaS) as a way to significantly reduce costs, and it’s an easy way to move existing applications into a cloud environment. However, once there, enterprises tend to realize the limitations of the cloud and the ability to optimize a platform not created for the cloud. It makes sense to invest in platforms that are designed for the environment where they’ll be housed.
Management: Any as-a-service solution will include administrative tasks, such as backups, patching, and provisioning, plus hardware and operating systems.
Flexibility: Enterprises using PaaS and DBaaS appreciate the ease of provisioning as well as access to a test environment where features can be spun up, tested, and then retired without significant costs or time. The ability to scale up or down offers better flexibility for businesses with any seasonal component to their capacity concerns.
How Should Enterprises Choose PaaS or DBaaS? There are many options on the market, and each carries its own features and challenges. Think about a few aspects of the solution to make a more informed decision:
- How much will you need it to scale, and should it scale automatically?
- What interoperability will you need with existing platforms or platforms you plan to utilize in the future?
- What kinds of management access are offered by the cloud provider?
- Will your requirements change in the future?
These are just a few of the questions that should be included in your assessment of a PaaS or DBaaS solution for your enterprise. For assistance and a guide through the process, contact us at One Connect.