Cloud-as-a-service trades capital hardware, software and licensing costs into an operating expense
Faced with the ever-increasing need to cut costs and boost revenues, many enterprises are turning to digitalization strategies focused on using cloud computing platforms and attendant data analytics functions to gain efficiency and insight relative to business operations.
But, deploying a cloud infrastructure, in addition to being a highly complex, difficult process, also costs a lot of money. That’s why many cloud players are launching cloud-as-a-service models to reach new enterprise clients. Like with the whole as-a-service movement, the idea is to outsource the infrastructure investment and maintenance to the experts, while still getting all the benefits.
Take a look at what heavyweight Rackspace is doing in this arena. The San Antonio-based company this week launched a service designed to allow companies to deploy a fully managed private cloud in any data center anywhere in the world.
“By delivering OpenStack everywhere, the new integrated, software, hardware and services solution can answer CIO demand for managed services for private cloud on their own terms – meeting customers at every step of their cloud journey whether it is in a customer or third-party data center, a Rackspace-support third-party colocation facility or a Rackspace data center,” the company noted.
Darrin Hanson, GM and VP of OpenStack private cloud at Rackspace, explained the business drivers: “Companies realize they can free up money and resources for more strategic business investments when they turn their IT capital expenses into operating expenses. When OpenStack is consumed as a managed service, businesses can remove noncore operations, reduce software licensing and minimize infrastructure acquisition and IT operations costs.”
Here’s how Rackspace describes the cloud-as-a-service customer process:
- Customers deploy a Rackspace designed purpose-built OpenStack private cloud in any data center, anywhere in the world, with a fully tested integrated modular rack of hardware, software and services.
- Rackspace experts then manage the end-to-end deployment, monitoring operations of the integrated solutions and help on-board the customers to their new OpenStack private cloud environment.
- From the floor tiles all the way up the service stack, Rackspace extends “fanatical support” to the customer’s OpenStack private cloud – fully managing the underlying OpenStack software, hardware and networking.
- Customers receive service level agreements combined with the OpenStack operational expertise from Rackspace backed by a 99.99% OpenStack API uptime guarantee.
“Rackspace continues to break down the barriers of enterprise cloud adoption by giving companies even more choice and flexibility in their data center transformation,” said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst and founder of Moor Insights & Strategy. “With this new solution, Rackspace is making OpenStack possible for its customers no matter what the environment. There is an increase in hybrid cloud adoption and Rackspace is operationalizing and simplifying it with this approach.”
