Solutions Cloud Computing: Infinium IBM, SAP, Business Management

Alongside the more traditional methods of delivering IT services to the business, Infinium offers a number of cloud computing services:

• Cloud Advisory services - which of your services lend themselves to a cloud computing model, how should you go about this and what are the available options
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - provision of a Virtualized server and storage infrastructure accessed over the internet. You would still need to provide and manage middleware and applications that sit on this infrastructure.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS) - this is Iaas with the addition of a middleware layer (databases, messaging, application servers) accessed over the internet. You would still need to provide and manage the application that sits on this platform.
• Software as a Service (SaaS) - the provision of a complete business application over the internet.

If a new IT service is to be provided to the business, or the provision of an existing service reviewed, then a cloud service could be an option. There are now a variety of ways of delivering an IT service to the business, ranging from the traditional model to Software as a Service:

• The traditional model: Buy and own hardware and software, host and manage in-house
• Consolidate and virtualise infrastructure, host and manage infrastructure and applications in-house
• Co-locate Virtualized infrastructure in a 3rd party datacentre, manage infrastructure and applications in-house
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - rent a Virtualized infrastructure rather than owning your own, manage the applications in-house
• Software as a Service (SaaS) - rent the application and perform only end user administration type tasks in-house

You will need to assess the IT service you are considering against a number of criteria such as business requirements, system interoperability, security and regulatory compliance and service levels to determine the most suitable option for delivering the service.