All businesses need to use technology, but that doesn’t mean they want to own it. That’s the beauty of the “as-a-Service” delivery model — you can attain all the advantages of leading-edge technologies without having capital tied up in IT infrastructure.
Almost any technology can now be acquired as a cloud-delivered service. In fact, “Anything-as-a-Service (XaaS)” has become an umbrella term for the many different kinds of service-style procurement models such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS).
In a recent Deloitte survey, 75 percent of IT professionals said their organizations already acquire more than half of their IT assets as cloud-delivered services, and 82 percent say XaaS is very important or critically important for their business success. According to a recent Fortune Business Insights report, the XaaS market was valued at $545.35 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $2.37 trillion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 23.4 percent.
Scalable, Flexible and Cost-Effective
Financial flexibility is an obvious selling point for XaaS. Whether acquired via subscription or through a pay-as-you-go consumption model, XaaS gives companies more control over how they pay for technology, with predictable pricing and flexible terms that fit their business needs. It also provides relief from relentless refresh cycles — technology is evolving so rapidl pace servers, networking gear, security appliances and storage devices are often out of date before they’ve even been paid off.
In addition to the financial benefits, XaaS also boosts business agility and flexibility in several important ways. Resources can be scaled up or down as needed without the need to acquire and provision new infrastructure, allowing organizations to deploy new services and applications rapidly as needed, even if only for the short term.
With XaaS, companies can also experiment with leading-edge technologies without making long-term financial and operational commitments. The model allows you to leverage a service provider’s infrastructure to try out artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, robotic process automation and other innovative technologies. In the Deloitte survey, 82 percent of respondents said that XaaS has accelerated experimentation by allowing their organization to rapidly try out and evaluate new solutions.
Service providers can also supply the manpower and expertise organizations need to efficiently use emerging technologies. For example, many providers offer specialized services such as cloud hosting, data analytics, network design, application development, cybersecurity, backup, help desk support and more. Such services allow organizations to offload tasks that would otherwise require a dedicated team of professionals. That is a critical benefit at a time when nearly two-thirds of organizations say IT talent shortages inhibit their ability to adopt important technologies.
How to Choose
As with any new technology, organizations must do their due diligence before investing in XaaS. Rapid growth has attracted hundreds of different providers to the market, each with varying degrees of proficiency. However, organizations often lack the resources and expertise to adequately research potential providers and evaluate their offerings.
Technologent can help you find providers that can meet your unique needs. As part of our Service Provider Network services, we have developed a framework for vetting providers so that companies can accurately evaluate their capabilities, reputation and track record. What’s more, our engineers and project managers can help ensure XaaS success by monitoring everything from implementation through ongoing management.
XaaS can create immense value by allowing businesses to rapidly adopt new technologies without the need for large upfront investments in hardware, software and personnel. The experts at Technologent can help you choose, implement and manage services that meet your business needs. Contact us to learn more.
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