Software as a service, infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, desktop as a service, where does it stop? Well, honestly, it doesn’t stop at anything. The XaaS model (long form Everything/Anything as a service) has been on the minds of leading cloud technologies for a while now.
So what is Xaas? Another fad? Well, if you look at recent fads, quite a few of them that made sense to the consumers have stayed. Not just that, these “fads” have continued to evolve and expand, surprising many tech gurus. This change is especially credited to the unprecedented responses of their patrons; case in point- social networking, cloud technology, and e-commerce.
Cloud companies today are already way beyond what they aspired to be, say around 5 years ago. In recent times, cloud is no longer restricted to off-site computing for enterprises, and is more than just a medium of data backup for consumers. The not so gradual shift to mobile devices has added a boost to this XaaS facet of cloud technology. Most cloud service providers can make the optimum use of this boom and expand themselves into a broad stretch of unending services to customers and prospects alike.
Just like an apartment you purchase is built by the coalition of multiple resources- yet it is one entity that you pay for- so is the case with XaaS. Consider buying a laptop, that has inbuilt services like the software, hardware, maintenance and the applications, you are not charged for each of these individual services, you pay for the laptop.
This allows innumerable platforms to be hosted on a larger, unified platform where every participant reaches out to the desired consumer. In a recent survey by IDG Research Services, over 60% of respondents said they had implemented or piloted cloud computing. Cloud services continue to get flexible with pay-per-use, and service consumption model that bends with business requirements and shifts capital expenses to operating expenses. All these have contributed to businesses wanting more from the service providers. And service providers seem too happy to oblige. Hosting core and mainstream business elements via the cloud offers flexibility, transparency, accessibility and an unending possibility of business options for the future.
Growing demands from consumers are surely keeping IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS providers on their toes. Xaas seems like an excellent opportunity for these providers to unite and outspread their current capacities and serve their consumers without any glitches, in real time.