CAPABILITY COMES STANDARD WITH AS-A-SERVICE
The cloud may bring efficiency, agility and scalability in its wake, but when the tools aren’t right for the job, they aren’t going to make any difference to the business, says Henk Olivier, Ozone Information Technology Solutions MD.
From complex firewalls to robust back-end solutions, the as-a-service (aas) model has evolved from a dynamic concept into a vibrant reality. Cloud-based solutions are consistently reinventing their ability to transform business processes, streamline capabilities and save the business money. Software-as-a-service has evolved from an outlandish idea to something that many IT companies use to create infrastructure and services for clients, and which many clients appreciate for its ubiquity and agility.
“Thanks to improved bandwidth and network capacity, companies can move almost all of their services to the cloud,” explains Olivier. “For example, in the past many companies have had their mail servers hosted on site, but today they use cloud solutions to do the same job at half the cost for twice the value. Storage, data access, environments – all these vital business components come with services based in the cloud.”
Organisations can invest in services on demand without the need to invest in infrastructure. This means they can scale up or down dependent on demand and budget. It is a much-needed shift from CAPEX to OPEX that should make many a Chief Financial Officer happy. In addition, cloud services are moving into new areas, allowing organisations to harness the potential of the technology and significantly mitigate risk.
“Firewall-as-a-service (FWAAS) has become a powerful tool that can protect the business, both internally and externally, and is growing in popularity,” says Olivier. “You cannot just block all Internet content and social media to ensure the security of the business. It will never work. This type of solution allows for users to gain access to relevant productivity tools and social networks, while also giving the business the network security it needs for peace of mind and compliance.” FWAAS allows the organisation to completely rethink cybersecurity. It hands the problems over to the experts so it can get on with doing what it does the best: its business.
“Support, capacity, cost – these are the most common issues juggled by IT professionals today,” says Olivier. “What they need is for network security to become simple again, and that’s exactly the box that FWAAS ticks.” Even Gartner is paying attention. In its July 2016 Hype Cycle report, the organisation describes FWAAS as both simple and cost effective, while also delivering services which can be more secure than traditional ones.
“Thanks to improved bandwidth and network capacity, companies can move almost all of their services to the cloud”
“I will always recommend that a business invest in a service provider rather than try to manage and administer all their essential services on their own,” concludes Olivier. “They have their businesses to run, they know what they need to do – why dilute that with tasks that someone else can take on with far greater efficiency, at a lower cost, and with more features and functionality built in?” ■