IaaS, SaaS
& Hosted Solutions
Flexible cloud infrastructure for your business
Phoenix IT provides hosted infrastructure and cloud solutions from our local data centre in Bunbury. Instead of purchasing and maintaining your own onsite server hardware, your business can access secure computing resources over the internet on a monthly basis.
Our hosted solutions can include server resources, storage, networking, backups, Remote Desktop Services, Microsoft licensing and ongoing support.
What is SaaS?
Software as a Service, or SaaS, is another layer of cloud computing.
SaaS delivers software and services over the internet. A common example is Microsoft 365, including Exchange Online for business email.
While IaaS provides hosted infrastructure such as servers and storage, SaaS usually provides a specific software service.
What is IaaS?
Infrastructure as a Service, or IaaS, provides instant computing infrastructure over the internet.
Rather than buying, installing and maintaining your own onsite servers and network hardware, the infrastructure is hosted and maintained in our local data centre. Your business connects securely over the internet and pays for the resources it needs, such as:
- Processing power
- Memory
- Storage
- Networking
- Firewall services
- Server licensing
IaaS can replicate much of the functionality of traditional onsite server infrastructure, but without the upfront hardware investment.
Benefits of IaaS
IaaS can provide a number of advantages for businesses, including:
- No large upfront capital outlay
- Less onsite hardware to maintain
- Pay only for the resources you need
- Flexible upgrades and downgrades as your business changes
- Access to higher grade server and storage hardware
- Improved reliability and performance
- Potentially lower workstation costs when using Remote Desktop Services
- Increased physical security through our secured data centre
- Infrastructure monitored and maintained 24/7/365
- Improved business continuity and disaster recovery
- Data stored offsite from your business premises
- Monthly operating expense model
Things to Consider
IaaS may not be suitable for every business or every application.
Some things to consider include:
- Performance may depend on your internet connection
- A backup internet service may be recommended
- Long-term costs may exceed purchasing a server outright after several years
- Some systems may still be better suited to onsite infrastructure
However, hosted infrastructure removes the need for large upfront hardware costs and avoids being locked into ageing equipment that needs replacement every 3–5 years.
How Does IaaS Work?
Using IaaS may feel similar to using an onsite server.
For example, your users may still access shared drives, files and business applications as they do now. The main difference is that the server is hosted in our data centre instead of being located in your office.
If your business uses Remote Desktop Services, users can connect to a hosted desktop environment from a local PC, laptop or supported device. The software runs on the hosted server, reducing the need for powerful workstations at each desk.
Getting Started
The first step is to determine whether IaaS or SaaS is suitable for your business.
Our network engineers will review your current environment, business requirements, users, applications and data needs. From there, we can recommend a hosted solution that fits your environment.
A proposed solution may include:
- Virtual CPUs
- Memory
- Storage
- Firewall and networking
- Windows Server licensing
- Microsoft 365 licensing
- Remote Desktop Services licensing
- Backup and disaster recovery options
Example Solutions
Scenario 1: Small Business File Server
A small business with around five users has an ageing onsite file server used for user management and shared documents.
Solution:
- Migrate email to Exchange Online
- Implement a hosted file server using IaaS
Example resources:
- 3 virtual CPUs
- 4GB RAM
- 250GB storage
- Windows Server licensing
- Exchange Online licensing
Scenario 2: Business with Remote Desktop Users
A business with around ten users has ageing onsite servers used for user management, shared documents, application hosting and Remote Desktop access.
Solution:
- Migrate email to Exchange Online
- Implement hosted storage and Remote Desktop Services using IaaS
Example resources:
- 12 virtual CPUs
- 20GB RAM
- 500GB storage
- Windows Server licensing
- Remote Desktop Services licensing
- Microsoft Office licensing
- Exchange Online licensing
Data Storage & Security
Your data is stored on our enterprise servers and NAS infrastructure. These systems are protected by RAID for disk redundancy and UPS systems for power protection.
Our hardware is located in a physically secured, temperature-controlled data centre within our secured premises.
Backups & Recovery
Our storage infrastructure is replicated to redundant server and storage systems both onsite and offsite.
This helps protect against hardware outages and site-wide incidents. For protection against accidental deletion or user error, we can also implement restore-point based backups within your hosted environment.
Backup options are normally included in most hosted solution proposals.
Handling of Major Outage
If our data centre is affected by an event such as fire, theft or flood, we follow disaster recovery procedures to bring services online using offsite redundant infrastructure.
Depending on the nature of the outage, some downtime may occur while services are restored.
Flexible Monthly Billing
Most hosted solutions are billed monthly and can be changed or cancelled with 30 days’ notice.
Exceptions may apply where discounted pricing has been negotiated based on a minimum contract term.
Resource Allocation
One of the major benefits of IaaS is flexibility.
If your business grows, additional storage, memory or server resources can be added quickly. If your business downsizes or wants to reduce costs, resources can also be adjusted.
Support
A hosted environment is similar to a traditional server environment. Your business still manages day-to-day usage, users and applications under your normal support arrangement.
Phoenix IT manages the physical infrastructure, hosting platform and service availability.
Talk to Phoenix IT
Not sure whether IaaS, SaaS or a hosted solution is right for your business?
Contact Phoenix IT to discuss your current environment and find out whether a hosted solution is suitable for your needs.
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