What is the “Cloud”? How cloud services can benefit your business.

by Mar 29, 2021

What is “the Cloud”?

The Cloud refers to on-demand servers that allow users to access software and databases via the Internet. Essentially, this means companies don’t need to manage physical servers. They also do not need to run software applications on their own devices whenever they use applications.

Cloud is everywhere, and chances are you’re already using it. If your organisation uses Google Suite, Dropbox, or Salesforce, then you’re using it. Even outside of work, if you use Netflix, Facebook, or Spotify, you’re already using it.

Service Model

Cloud services typically come in one of three different models. Every service fits into one of the following categories.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

SaaS is arguably the most common cloud service model and encompasses any cloud-hosted software application. Users access the software through the Internet, instead of installing an application on their device. SaaS applications offer a huge advantage for companies when it comes to data storage and scalability.

Examples of SaaS applications include Salesforce, Slack, Dropbox, Zendesk and MailChimp.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

Platform-as-a-Service is a model where clients pay vendors for the necessary tools to build an application. PaaS supports everything from building, testing, deploying, managing and updating through tools like servers, storage networking, development tools and database management systems.

Examples of PaaS include Google App Engine and OpenShift.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

There are times when a company needs to build its own application. However, they don’t want to establish their own servers or storage. That’s where Infrastructure-as-a-Service comes into play. IaaS is when a company rents the servers and storage they need from a cloud provider. Using this, they then build their own applications.

Examples of IaaS include Rackspace and Google Compute Engine.

While these are the three major categories for such services, there are other variations. Video Surveillance as a Service, or VSaaS, for example, is how we categorize the Eagle Eye Networks . Access Contol as a Service is how we categorize Brivo On Air.

Benefits of moving to cloud services

Video-Surveillance-as-a-Service encompasses video recording, storage, remote viewing, management alerts and cybersecurity. Today the cloud is becoming more prevalent due to the numerous benefits its offers over traditional video surveillance systems.

  • Simple setup and low maintenance
  • Easy, remote access
  • Redundant video and metadata storage
  • Increased video retention

The Eagle Eye VMS was designed to revolutionize video surveillance. They have created a VMS that is simple, scalable, and truly secure. Industry applications of Video-Surveillance-as-a-Service are very diverse due to the wide variety of advantages. Find out more at www.een.com/solutions/industries.