What Is IaaS?

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing deployment model that provides virtual servers, storage systems, and network components to organizations. It offers three types of deployment: public, private, and hybrid. Public IaaS is managed by the provider and used exclusively by one organization. Private IaaS can be owned and managed by the company or a third party, with data centers located on-premises or off-site. Hybrid IaaS combines an organization's hardware with cloud services for specific tasks. IaaS differs from traditional data centers as it is a virtual infrastructure built on top of physical infrastructure. The responsibility for security and management in the cloud is shared between providers and clients, with providers handling physical security and network protection while clients manage virtual resources and backups. Benefits of IaaS include automatic scaling of resources, enhanced security through advanced technology, reduced IT department costs, minimized risk of system downtime, and a pay-as-you-go pricing model.