Cloud hosting has supported the development of industry standards for the last decade. In doing so, it’s become essential to keeping up with many industry developments in a number of different markets. The tools provided and low impact of cloud based solutions to company space budgets and technical support have ingratiated it to companies the world over. When looking to branch out your cloud based services or looking to adopt them for the first time into your company, it can be difficult to know what to look for. There are many host providers that claim to be in the top tier of the cloud industry, but what exactly puts them there? The honest answer is that the top tier for services you need may be completely different than what the market is currently advertising, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find what you’re looking for.
Understanding the Stack
If you’re perusing cloud based hosting for solutions that apply to your business, you may already know about the cloud computing stack and if not directly, it’s likely you’ve seen it or one of its components. The ‘stack’ refers to the general different types of cloud services and how they are implemented and utilized to accomplish different goals. The stack is usually referred to be one of four acronyms: SPI or Software, Platform, Infrastructure and then further broken down into SaaS, PaaS and Iaas (Software as a Service, Platform as a Service and Infrastructure as a Service). How these different stacks work is the key to which one you should be looking for when searching for top cloud hosting providers at a comparison engine like Cloud Kompare.
Software as a Service
Companies like Google, Facebook, WordPress and more are all examples of the SaaS model of cloud based computing. These recognizable brands all offer software that is available without installation or exactly system requirements, often launched through the browser and easy to access just about anywhere you have an internet connection. Software as a Service has become more popular as mobile phones have begun to rival desktop and laptop PCs in terms of computing power. Many SaaS providers have jumped on the mobile bandwagon, offering apps and options for access their software through mobile phone screens, which are connected even more often than PCs today. SaaS doesn’t make sense as a solution for every company, but companies where there’s a lot of interaction between partners and the public or where partners and employees are often out of the office on business can benefit from mobile access to applications that SaaS provides.
Platform as a Service
Platform as a service takes cloud computing in a new direction, offering an environment where developers and programmers can ply their skills online to develop services and applications for a company without the need of specialized tools and software of their own. There are many benefits to a PaaS stack including a reduction in cost because specialized tools and software aren’t required for developers to work in, and it allows for non-expert individuals to gain experience working with the tools, protocols and structures your company requires for the development of their applications. Tools like Operating Systems, Storage solutions and hosting can all be packaged in a PaaS stack, which allows for flexibility for accessing and working with tools even when outside the office.
Infrastructure as a Service
The third cloud computing stack is Infrastructure. IaaS may be considered two tier of cloud computing services because the idea behind this stack is to create a virtual machine with which companies, partners, employees and potentially even the public can interact. Like a virtual desktop or a virtual data center, IaaS focuses on creating an infrastructure that is stored completely in the cloud. This particular stack is a good failsafe when put into place because it offers support over multiple cloud servers and often comes with a downtime guarantee because if one server or center fails, others are able to distribute the load and keep your access and applicable stable. IaaS is a scalable solution for hosting a multitude of virtual environments, from technical support centers to virtual file sharing and teleconferencing and because it’s hosted in the cloud, access isn’t dependent on location
Cloud Computing as a Solution
Whatever stack of cloud computing works best for your company, this expansive and ultimately accessible service can be designed to fit into many different budgets, industries and scenarios. Because cloud computing encompasses a variety of different methodology where it comes to service solutions, it’s becoming an industry standard. When looking for the top cloud hosting providers, be sure you understand which stack will best suit your company or be prepared to look at a great many host providers before you find the one that will work best for the solutions you are looking to implement. While the process may be long, the cloud offers a wide variety of services and access and can be made to fit nearly anywhere.
