The Cloud model in Small and Medium-sized Companies

The pandemic has forced most companies to embark on a process of digital transformation.

One of the main areas of digital transformation for companies has been and continues to be cloud computing. According to IDC, the cloud computing market will triple its turnover by 2023 and by 2028, its investment is expected to reach 80%.

More and more micro, small and medium-sized companies are using cloud computing services and, according to our professionals at atSistemas, this is a trend that will continue to grow in the coming years.

At atSistemas, we analyse the main factors to be taken into account by SMEs to identify and incorporate into your company the cloud model that best suits your needs:

1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):

Flexibility, scalability and security are three basic characteristics of this cloud service model. One of the benefits of this model is that companies do not have to manage the costs of owning an IT infrastructure, as they receive access to a virtual data centre through a platform.

Companies can reduce or increase resources as needed. As for the security offered by this model, no one can access the stored data even though it is stored on an external server.

Platform as a Service (PaaS):

For companies looking for a service that is more tailored to their needs, this is the right cloud model.

Instead of offering software or applications like SaaS, in this case the provider offers a complete platform (hardware, software and infrastructure) on which applications can be developed, run and managed without the complexity of maintaining the platform on-premises.

3. Software as a Service (SaaS)

This model provides easy integration and compatibility with enterprises.

Startups and small businesses opt for this cloud computing model because business requirements mean they want to get their operations up and running as quickly as possible.

Among other benefits, their applications are accessible from anywhere in the world and SMEs do not have to manage the software.

4. Functions as a Service (FaaS)

This model belongs to the category of Cloud Computing Services (CCS). It offers SMEs a platform on which they can develop, use and manage applications, without the need for the costs of maintaining and building the infrastructure. It is a perfect model for SMEs that are in charge of development. It offers great scalability managed by the provider.

FaaS focuses on the event-driven computing paradigm where application code or containers are only executed in response to events or requests.

5. Container as a Service (CaaS)

CaaS is a cloud computing model that allows users to load, organise, start, stop, scale and manage containers, applications and clusters. Enterprises can build scalable and secure containerised applications across on-premises data centres or the cloud.  Its main advantage is the level of security it offers.

Before embarking on any of the cloud computing models mentioned above, small and medium-sized enterprises should carry out a study and assessment of their real technological needs. Once this exercise has been carried out, the real needs in this area will be known and the technology that best suits their needs can then be implemented.

“The selection of each cloud model not only depends on the size of the company, but also on its needs. That is why we recommend a thorough analysis of your current and future needs in order to select a cloud model that will be useful as the company grows”.

Pedro Gallardo     

Business Development Director