Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Application Hosting have become staples in cloud computing over the past few years. In 2023 alone, the IaaS hosting market was expected to be worth 150 billion U.S. dollars. This is up from $92.8 billion in 2021, representing a 63% increase in total market value over 2 years. The Application Hosting market also grew from $75.88 billion in 2022 to $85.91 billion in 2023. This rate of growth is an indicator that these services are here to stay and, in all likelihood, will continue to expand into 2024 and beyond. Therefore, it is imperative that business owners stay up with evolving trends relating to Application Hosting and IaaS as we delve further into 2024. Here’s a brief look at what those trends may look like:
Application Hosting and Infrastructure as a Service
Application Hosting
Before we dive into what application hosting might look like as the year progresses, we should have a strong concept of its definition. Application Hosting is a type of Hosted Software, which refers to software that is installed, hosted, and accessed entirely from a remote server or location. Application Hosting allows businesses to run their applications on servers or in a cloud with a service provider such as AWS (Amazon Web Services) or SWK’s own Secure Cloud Hosting. This is useful to businesses as they do not have to invest in building and maintaining the underlying infrastructure – which enables them to lower their costs by paying only for what they use.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Infrastructure as a Service is a cloud hosting service that offers essential computing, storage, and networking resources on demand, on a pay-as-you-go basis. This allows you to replace your on-premise hardware with hosted IT infrastructure in the cloud, where you can have fully supported, up-to-date hardware solutions in place that are scalable and accessible anywhere with an internet connection. IaaS ensures that companies can effortlessly expand their resources as needed, with the ability to easily budget by transitioning their on-premise infrastructure to a third-party option. Additionally, IaaS allows you to prepare your business for the future by ensuring you have up-to-date hardware and software for your infrastructure without the investment. As your IT team no longer has to worry about constant server maintenance, they can now focus on other business objectives.
What’s the Difference?
While similar, application hosting and IaaS have some fundamental differences. Application Hosting solutions, like SWK’s Secure Cloud Hosting, are meant for individual applications and their data like your ERP. IaaS hosting will not only host your business applications but is designed to replace your on-premise physical infrastructure, freeing you up from costly hardware upgrades as well as housing other critical IT infrastructure needs in the cloud. Application hosting is a line of business application hosting, offering virtual servers configured to the application’s specifications for memory, vCPUs, and disk storage space. IaaS can be for more complex Application Hosting and might include other business servers like domain controllers, file and print servers, app servers, database servers, etc. IaaS plays a larger role in digital transformation than application hosting and is priced based on the amount of system resources configured, not per user per month.
Trends to Look Out for in 2024
Green Web Hosting
As the environment becomes a more pressing and polarizing topic of conversation each year, it’s important to note that the Internet’s annual CO2 output is equal to 31 million cars driving around the world all at once. This relates to IaaS and Application Hosting as hardware in data centers needs to be stored in a cool and controlled environment, which is an incredibly energy-intensive process that results in a significant amount of CO2 output into the atmosphere. Due to the impact this technology is having on the environment, web hosting companies are now investing in carbon offsetting schemes. In green web hosting, web hosts actively participate in eco-friendly initiatives to reduce negative impacts on the environment, by gaining renewable energy certificates (RECs) or carbon offset certificates. RECs are significant as they represent the knowledge that the specific cloud hosting company assisted in generating renewable energy.
Fewer Data Centers
In 2020, data centers were predicted to account for around 45% of total IT infrastructure spending. By 2024, that figure is forecasted to decrease to 36.5%. Due to services like Application Hosting and IaaS, organizations are building fewer data centers, showing the greater adoption of this technology in action. This decrease is split between enterprises investing in computers and servers, and the service providers choosing to go into the enterprise or the consumer space. With the number of enterprises utilizing the cloud, they don’t require infrastructure to set up data centers, which also affects the number of people needed to manage servers, storage, and networks. This also will impact the amount of CO2 being generated and continue to free up organizations to focus on their core business practices as opposed to constant server setup and maintenance.
Edge Computing
Another trend we may see come to prominence in 2024 is Edge Computing. Edge Computing allows devices in remote locations to process data at the “edge” of the network, either by the device or a local server. To minimize latency, when data needs to be processed in the central datacenter, only the most important data is transmitted. Edge computing is likely to continue its growth in popularity as more devices connected to the internet need instant data processing and application delivery. The main difference between an edge server and a standard dedicated server is location. An Edge server is housed as close as possible to the edge user location and offers a very low latency for the application delivery, which is usually less than 3ms.
A Distributed Cloud
The concept of a Distributed Cloud involves distributing various IaaS and Cloud-native services (services specifically created to exist in the cloud) to multiple data centers, including on-premises infrastructure, edge locations, and public cloud providers. Distributed Cloud depends on the ability of the software industry to present complex multi-cloud management platforms that allow the creation and management of geographically dispersed It infrastructure environments. This could be the next big thing in the IT infrastructure market as companies seek to optimize their cloud deployments and reduce latency. Distributed cloud can help any organization gain greater control over its hybrid multi-cloud infrastructure by providing visibility and management from one console, with a single set of tools.
Contact SWK Today
In an era where software like Application Hosting and IaaS are becoming increasingly sophisticated, keeping pace with the constant changes can be challenging. Fortunately, SWK has a team of experts ready to assist you in staying informed and up to date. Contact us today and gain access to expert knowledge and experience that can prepare you not only for the challenges of 2024 but also for whatever lies beyond.