What is compute as a service (CaaS)?

CaaS services are also sometimes referred to as infrastructure as a service (IaaS).

First, let’s clarify our terms. There can be some confusion, especially because CaaS is often called IaaS, and compute as a service shares the same acronym as containers as a service.

While both CaaS and IaaS allow prospective users to request and provision computing resources, the term CaaS is often used to focus more on the processing power and flexibility the service can provide. IaaS is frequently used to paint a picture of the full underlying infrastructure.

“Compute” is an umbrella phrase that covers all the various components needed to make programs run. This includes the processing power, memory, networking capabilities and various storage resources.

When we discuss compute services, we’re often talking about:

• Containers: Containers are a type of compute resource used with compute services.

• Virtual machines: Virtual machines (VMs) are a type of software that mimics a physical computer and lets users run programs and operating systems within a private environment.

• Serverless computing: Serverless computing functions are a cloud computing configuration in which cloud service providers administer the service and oversee its infrastructure, and the service performs functions such as the provisioning of resources and auto scaling.

Compute as a service (CaaS) draws heavily upon the concept of virtualization, which allows computers to create virtual environments. Virtualization technology gives organizations cost-effective and flexible access to computing power, hence negating considerable infrastructure investments that might otherwise prove necessary.

The role of the cloud provider is central to CaaS operation. It’s the cloud provider that supplies the necessary computing power, manages the memory and supplies other key services.

The user’s role in this rental arrangement is drastically simpler: sign up, use the services and pay for resources such as virtual servers, processing power and storage on-demand. The most obvious benefit for the user is the added convenience and the peace of mind for knowing that their CaaS use is being capably managed in the most cost-effective manner possible.

CaaS functions according to three steps:

1. Request is made and entered: The user begins the request process in the cloud provider’s interface by typing a text command in the Command Line Interface (CLI). This is where the request is made to access a defined amount of compute power. CaaS uses a Domain Name System (DNS) that makes it easier for people to access cloud services without having to recall complex IP addresses.
2. Resources are allocated: Having received a request, the cloud provider responds by drawing upon its supply of assets to migrate the needed virtualized resources—including CPU cores, RAM and storage, which are empowered by the use of solid-state drives (SSDs). A container registry serves as the storage and distribution hub for container images—a key element of deploying apps in CaaS.
3. Functions are launched: The user can connect to the virtual machine allocated for the user’s purpose by network connection. Now the user can run different applications, aided by the application programming interfaces (APIs) that serve as bridges between apps. Further, a backend can be put into operation, which allows users to hand off the server-side management of apps to cloud infrastructure.

When analyzing exactly what type of organization is likely to get the maximum utility from CaaS operation, we are likely to encounter several characteristics that are variations on the same theme. Companies that are in prime position to derive the most benefits from CaaS include organizations that:

• Don’t want to commit to investing in large upfront infrastructure costs

• Hope to avoid the extra labor costs associated with managing hardware infrastructure

• Aren’t really in a position to defend their own online corporate security

• Require fast scalability changes to accommodate peak usage periods

• Experience changing demand levels for computing power

If we add up all those conditions, the composite portrait that emerges shows a company—like most organizations—that’s navigating mixed straits. The organization is substantial enough to have “big company” problems, but it might not have the budget or manpower available to deal with those needs in a full-on, full-commitment manner.

There might even be a suspicion within the company that IT staff might not be fully up to the challenge of keeping the company and its intellectual assets secure. Further, although the company wants to avoid large-scale investment, it still wants and needs the agility of a large system—one that can scale up or down rapidly in perfect orchestration with its momentary processing needs.

So, in conclusion, the companies that might be the best fit for using CaaS are those that might be of limited to moderate budget, but which still need the processing advantages enjoyed by more substantial organizations.

Compute as a service (CaaS) is a concept that’s perfectly in tune with modern consumer usage patterns, which favor convenience, flexibility and affordability. Think of car leasing, which presently accounts for approximately 20% of US automobile ownership.¹ CaaS users are similarly trying to avoid the considerable investment costs of purchasing equipment.

Also, consider the multitude of cellphone plans that trumpet the fact that they don’t enforce long-term contracts as part of their service agreements. CaaS reflects a similarly untethered approach—you can use just what you require, and only for as long as you need it.

The use of CaaS offers these primary benefits.

Cost considerations often take top priority for businesses. This makes the prospect of CaaS seem like a sensible, cost-effective option to many organizations. Not only are these companies avoiding the purchase of expensive equipment, they’re also saving the future expenses associated with maintaining such equipment, which can prove hefty. Such companies also save on associated labor costs.

CaaS offers a centralized platform and advanced security protocols such as access controls, data encryption, intrusion detection and patching accomplished through automation. CaaS works well for companies that want to strengthen their security posture but lack the resources and manpower to devote much company energy to such activity. CaaS can limit vulnerabilities and help prevent data loss.

Many organizations play an ongoing guessing game whereby they continuously must forecast the services they need, only to learn later that the company really needed more or less than what was provisioned. CaaS can help companies prevent overprovisioning services, helping ensure they get exactly what they need. And if the business really changes, CaaS supplies the flexibility to easily pivot as required.

The added convenience of using CaaS, which results from shifting all managerial responsibilities from on-premises operation to the managed service offered by the cloud computing service provider, often comes at a considerable cost and with some noteworthy potential risks.

Although a CaaS-oriented approach makes sense for many organizations, any company choosing it should realize that they are simply not going to be able to retain as much control or flexibility over the process as they did when they managed that process. For example, users experience less control over the infrastructure they’re using, with fewer configuration options and ways to customize it for their specific use.

As anyone who’s ever been part of a paid subscription arrangement knows all too well, it’s always the potential special fees and other charges you must consider, preferably before you sign up. The case of CaaS is no different. A company signs up for this service based on its own pricing ideas of its upcoming service needs. But should that company’s usage exceed projected limits, there are apt to be stiff overage penalties for usage spikes.

Everything in CaaS occurs online, at the service provider’s site. Therefore, users must maintain a viable internet connection. Further, users might experience any latency issues that affect that provider. Likewise, if the provider experiences outages or technical issues, the user will likely experience service interruptions as well. In both instances, the user might encounter difficulties and delays when attempting to access company data.

Anytime a company stores its data on remote servers, there’s a risk of increased vulnerability. Multiple, high-profile security breaches have shown that service providers might strive to deliver enhanced security measures and create a trustworthy environment but that doesn’t make them immune to cyberthreats. Some hackers specifically target large and trusted service providers, in part for the added notoriety to be gained by their crime.

CaaS is all about convenience. So, you might think it would be easy to switch to another cloud provider—but that’s not always the case. Data transfer often becomes problematic as you move data assets from one platform to another. It can create a state of vendor lock-in in which the user becomes effectively trapped by one provider. Compliance matters affecting data control exist for various industries dealing with personal information. Such companies might need more security than a public cloud provides.

There are numerous reasons for embracing CaaS as a business strategy. Here’s a list of some of the most common reasons companies turn to CaaS.

• DevOps support: CaaS perhaps shines most when it comes to providing support for the development process. CaaS lets users rapidly and easily spin up virtual environments for development and testing. Ideas can move quickly through the DevOps process and into fruition as web applications, thanks to the developer tools provided through CaaS.

• Big data analytics: One of the things that organizations value about CaaS is the way it lets them take advantage of online computing resources to help churn large datasets in hopes of gleaning productive insights. Data analytics tools help break big data analytics down into more manageable assets.

• Disaster recovery: A key use of CaaS is creating a backup system that can be kept safely stored within the cloud in case of the need for disaster recovery. With that established, any system experiencing failure can simply be replaced with the backup system, and regular workflows can avoid disruption.

• HPC support: CaaS can enable powerful computer resources, like high-performance computing (HPC), which requires considerable, high-availability processing power but allows companies to run complex simulations and intensive data workloads.

• Machine learning: With the heavy computational power enabled by CaaS, machine learning applications can capably support complex machine learning models. Cloud platforms provide easy access to machine-learning tools, templates and tutorials.

• Expandable service: Companies experience periods of peak computer demand and when they do, such as during a holiday sale, CaaS allows them to perform some fast load balancing to scale the service up to withstand the spike in traffic and scale it back down after the peak period ends.

• Hosting websites: Organizations that want to host websites on cloud infrastructure are another common use case for CaaS, which enables uncomplicated scaling based on website traffic.

• IoT support: The world is now filled with devices enhanced with Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities. IoT devices depend on CaaS to help run the processing of heavy data without burdening the local computing power of devices.

• Cost management: The most popular use case for CaaS might be cloud cost optimization. The pricing model for CaaS (that is, pay just for the compute resources you use) is attractive to a wide range of companies that are looking to avoid making substantial hardware expenditures.

Numerous companies are working in this space, each offering their own take on CaaS:

• AWS Compute Services: Amazon Web Services maintains its own services related to many purposes to be able to offer multiple cloud services to users. For example, Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) uses the Docker Engine to mimic Kubernetes functions, while Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) offers a managed Kubernetes solution that supports portability and lets users run Kubernetes clusters via on-premises data centers.

• Linux®: The open source operating system is an essential part of cloud computing and therefore, CaaS. Linux supports several types of cloud services, such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS).

• Microsoft Windows: For years, Microsoft Windows has been serving up its own version of CaaS, marketed under the name Windows as a Service (WaaS). A cloud-based subscription model gives users access to the powerful Windows OS and related updates. Microsoft also offers a similar service to users of Microsoft Azure.

• VMware: VMware is another cloud provider offering numerous compute resources, web services and storage services—many of them involving CaaS. VMware Cloud Services, for example, can be used with multiple infrastructures.