# Benefits of IaaS—Infrastructure as a Service | Capterra | Capterra > Learn how IaaS can benefit your business by providing on-demand virtual services, such as networking, storage, and hardware. Discover more by reading our guide. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/benefits-of-iaas --- Business StrategyIT & Software Development # Benefits of IaaS—Infrastructure as a Service By Adam Carpenter Adam Carpenter Adam Carpenter is a writer specializing in tech, fintech, and marketing topics for small businesses. He is a frequent contributor to Capterra. [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/acarpenter/) Published December 15, 2022 8 min read ## IaaS can provide many benefits for your business by providing on-demand virtual services. Even though the cloud began as a convenient place to simply store files, it’s now evolved into an environment capable of handling complex computing solutions, including the foundation of your computing infrastructure. With [infrastructure-as-a-service](https://www.capterra.com/infrastructure-as-a-service-solutions-software/) (IaaS), your infrastructure exists in the cloud, which comes with some unique IaaS benefits, ranging from ease of use to security and scalability. ## Why use IaaS? With IaaS, you can have the most critical elements of your computing system living in the cloud, which gives your business the stability and ease of use cloud solutions have become known for. At the same time, IaaS frees you up from having to rely on hardware components that can be expensive to acquire and maintain. This makes IaaS a powerful option for companies that: - May need to expand or contract in the near future - Need the freedom to onboard new employees quickly, particularly when it comes to getting them set up with IT resources - Run business-critical applications in the cloud - Have remote workers and need to operate without borders, either currently or in the future For example, suppose you run an engineering and design firm in the States that has embraced the remote work environment. You hire an engineer from Israel and need them to have the same computing power as the rest of your team. Using IaaS, you can deploy their computer, storage infrastructure, and the applications they need to design solutions and interface with the rest of the team in a matter of minutes. You can also decide how they’ll connect to the computing infrastructure or even send them an inexpensive thin client that makes it easy to log in and get to work. ## Advantages of IaaS Infrastructure-as-a-service has several advantages, especially because it removes many of the inconveniences that stem from hardware-based computing environments. ### Reduces costs Purchasing the hardware you need to run even a relatively simple organization can easily become a pain in the budget. For instance, many companies need computers with a certain amount of processing power, speed, RAM, and storage in order to ensure employees can maintain productivity. And even though a server is a great way to connect users from across your campus or the world, getting the right one can come with a hefty price tag. On the other hand, with IaaS, you can get all the computational power you need by paying a manageable monthly subscription fee. In addition, you don’t have to worry about the cost of maintaining your system because that’s included in your monthly subscription. That means you have dedicated IT professionals maintaining and upgrading your computational infrastructure. If a particularly sticky issue pops up that needs a specialist with very specific knowledge, finding and paying that person isn’t your problem—your IaaS provider handles it. ### Promotes scalability and flexibility IaaS makes it easier and faster to scale because all you have to do is ask for additional infrastructure, and your provider delivers it. This is possible because you’re using virtual machines (VMs). You can think of a virtual machine as software that can perform much of the same computations your desktop or laptop can, such as running an operating system, applications, and networking functions. Because IaaS gives you the ability to add these when and how you need them, you can scale extremely quickly. For example, suppose your company decides to expand its sales infrastructure, providing online eCommerce sales in addition to direct orders made in person and over the phone. For the sake of both stability and security, you want to host this offering on a dedicated server. In a traditional computing environment, shopping for the right server, comparing prices, testing the number of requests it can handle, and ensuring it interfaces well with the rest of your IT environment could take weeks and hefty investments in in-house and contracted professionals. But with IaaS, you simply tell your provider what you want, and they set it up for you. Then, if you want to expand further—or even change your infrastructure altogether—your IaaS solution can configure it for you. ### Supports disaster recovery and business continuity Flexible disaster recovery and business continuity support are par for the course for an IaaS solution, partially because flexible storage is one of the most tried and true uses of cloud technology. An adequate disaster recovery and business continuity system depends on a few different facets that sit very comfortably within the IaaS wheelhouse: - Consistent backup systems with the storage capacity you need to host large amounts of data - Programmable backup systems that periodically ensure your essential systems have the duplicate content they need to recover from an incident - Redundant and parallel components that can be spun up quickly in the event of a failure or other interruption With IaaS, initiating a recovery procedure is fast and relatively seamless. For instance, suppose your primary server got hacked, and its data was being held by ransomware attackers. If you had scheduled regular backups of both your data and critical software systems, you could have everyone back up and running very quickly. More importantly, you wouldn’t be forced into a situation where you’d have to pay an expensive ransom. By the same token, you could also choose to have an IaaS solution run parallel to an on-premise system that constantly feeds data and settings to the IaaS solution. In this way, no matter what happens to your on-prem environment, your employees would merely have to log into the IaaS solution to continue working. While this may seem like overkill for many organizations, it can be invaluable in the event of an earthquake, hurricane, or other disasters that could result in extended outages. ### Enables freedom to focus on business growth Both IT management and business growth require enormous amounts of intellectual, physical, and emotional energy from your most valuable resource: your people. By opting for an IaaS solution, you can free up some of the most powerful thinkers and doers in your organization to focus on taking it to the next level. For instance, suppose you devote a considerable portion of your IT budget towards paying professionals to troubleshoot hardware issues that have a nasty reputation for hampering productivity. In many situations, you can say goodbye to some of the most damaging hardware hangups with an IaaS solution. Then your IT staff can focus on projects that can help improve your business. For example, you could challenge them with designing SD-WAN solutions that could better manage network traffic or make the end-user experience smoother and more convenient. If you’re a CIO, you could reinvest some of your energy toward finding the talent you need to develop in-house applications, bolster security, or automate time-consuming, error-prone processes. Far too often, the “solutions providers” within an organization have their plates full of relatively simple tasks, such as hardware configuration, repairs, and updates. If you use an IaaS solution, these talented individuals can invest their time in projects that expand the depth or scope of your business. For instance, companies that want to add a satellite office need to figure out how to ensure those employees can interface with headquarters and other offices seamlessly. Or, if you want to expand into another country, there may be jurisdictional data security requirements that you need your brightest minds to tackle. Employing an IaaS solution gives you the leeway to optimize your talent for these kinds of complex projects. ### Allows tighter security With many IaaS providers, you can enjoy tighter security simply because the company hyper-focuses on providing the safest computing environment possible. This is not just because it directly helps their customers but because it cements the provider’s reputation in the industry as a reliable resource, making this one of the most important infrastructure-as-a-service benefits. For example, suppose you ran a vehicle storage business that specialized in securing high-end sports cars for extended periods of time. You would go to every length to ensure that the numbers of break-ins, incidents of vandalism, and other disruptions were as small as possible. IaaS providers take a similar approach. A heavy investment in the latest security brings considerable dividends in the form of customer loyalty. Also, because IaaS providers manage virtualized computing components, an attack could impact not only customers but also the provider’s own service delivery infrastructure. So running a tight ship is essential. For customers, these security enhancements result in more reliable, safer computing. For example, many IaaS providers secure your computing infrastructure using: - Next-generation firewalls that can detect advanced and zero-day threats based on not just their signatures but also their behaviors. - Web application firewalls, which can be positioned in front of your web apps to ensure safer connections by employees and customers. - Network segmentation that can ensure that certain elements of your network get their own protection, which minimizes the chances of East-West attacks spreading from one area of your network to another. ## Want to learn more about Iaas? Whether you want a stronger security posture, enhanced continuity, and resilience, or more straightforward IT provisioning processes, IaaS may be a solution worth taking a look at. Not only can you save time and energy, but you can also save critical funds and human resources you can reinvest towards growing your business. ## Capterra's 2026 Software Buying Trends Report ### Download our 2026 Software Buying Trends Report to see how successful software adopters avoid disappointment and how your business can, too. * * * ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Adam Carpenter](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/acarpenter/) Adam Carpenter is a writer specializing in tech, fintech, and marketing topics for small businesses. 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