The Rise of the As a Service Model

In today’s digital world, companies need to invest in smart solutions to help them move fast and maintain a competitive edge. The as a Service model, where companies offer services to help other companies become more efficient, offers a path to reduced costs and streamlined workflows. Rather than struggle to do everything in-house—which would take up valuable resources and may require purchasing expensive hardware—buying services through third parties allows companies to pay for services as they need them.

How the as a Service model changed software

Take Software as a Service (SaaS) as an example. Before SaaS took off, businesses would have to buy software from specific vendors or stores, including licensing. Software set up used to include manual installations and updates. On the other hand, SaaS allows businesses to purchase software as a pay-per-use basis or as a subscription model. And it’s not just the procurement and payment process that has evolved; SaaS and the advent of the cloud mean that software can now be accessed across multiple devices (in other words, what you see on your phone is what you see on your laptop and desktop).

SaaS alone has changed the landscape for in-house IT organizations, freeing them from much of the burden of managing installations and maintenance. Other “as a Service” models include “Infrastructure as a Service” (IaaS), where infrastructure components like servers and hardware are hosted by a service provider, and “Platform as a Service” (PaaS), where a service provider offers an environment from which companies can deploy and manage applications.

As Service offerings don’t stop there. The aaS concept has continued to expand, leveraging the flexibility offered by the cloud to create additional offerings. Services such as Device as a Service (DaaS) have become increasingly popular. DaaS allows devices to be secured, optimized and fully monitored by a managed service provider (MSP).

Benefits of  the as a Service model include:

• Agility: Streamline your IT operations.
• Collaboration: Connect users and connect devices.
• Cost savings and flexibility: Pay based on consumption and focus only on what resources and services you need.
• Cloud-based: Connect to the services you need anytime and anywhere, and experience a boost in productivity.

What’s next for the as a Service model?

As a Service will continue to grow and disrupt the IT space, and managed service providers will be counted on to innovate and offer creative, practical solutions for businesses. A few factors that will influence how companies choose an MSP are:

• Security: Cybersecurity threats are only expected to increase. Companies of all sizes are increasing their investments in security solutions. In turn, they will expect MSPs to provide services that are secure yet still flexible.
• Internet of Things (IoT): Users will be connected to many more devices, increasing the wireless connectivity choices and expanding a company’s protocols. This is as much about the number of devices as it is about the customer service levels demanded by users to support these devices.
• Analytics: Technologies are evolving to offer more insights and to capture more data. There will be an expectation that these technologies integrate well with others to enable them to work smoothly.
• Managed service providers: Companies will count on MSPs more than ever to help manage their services and IT roadmap.

iT1 is committed to creating custom technology solutions to your business problems. Managed services play a big part in this. Contact us to learn more about how we can help streamline your IT operations and help you achieve your IT objectives.