Discover the difference between the cloud and SaaS

What is ‘the cloud’?

Cloud computing refers to resources that are not actually sat in any location. It consists of virtual servers and is used for Saas (software as a service), IaaS (infrastructure as a service) and PaaS (platform as a service). An example of IaaS and PaaS would be Microsoft Azure.

IaaS and PaaS provide the user with more flexibility to manage and customise software and is more frequently used by developers as opposed to end users.

So what is the difference?

Saas offerings are fully formed applications that are ready for end users to log in and use. SaaS can be described as one of the components of the cloud. If you are after off-shelf software that is ready to go you will need a SaaS-based software.

Cloud software is a bit more complex and will require someone with a good knowledge of network infrastructure and development.

It is more cost effective

With all your data, software and infrastructure sat in the cloud there are no expensive maintenance and backup costs. All updates can be run as soon as needed and since the cloud is usually hosted by a third party such as Valto, you don’t need to worry about things being secure and up to date or paying an IT department. As cloud service providers we take care of the maintenance and troubleshooting for you.

The cloud is much more cost-effective for businesses, you only pay for what you are using and with virtual servers, you can increase storage at almost the click of a button.

Your business always has access to the latest technology

Having your data and infrastructure in the cloud is future-proofing your business. Updates can be applied as soon as they come out, so you always have the latest version. The capabilities of the cloud continue to grow, and the advantage of the cloud is that it has the data to learn from its users and from this push out new updates based on how the users are working.

Access your data from anywhere

As Saas-based and cloud-based software and applications are accessed from the internet, you always have access to your programmes and data wherever you are. Gone are the days when you need to be in the office to access your network, you can be at home or in a coffee shop if you have WiFi.

Data Security

SaaS and cloud storage come with encryption, layered authentication models and access control to ensure the protection of your data. It also offers fast and uncomplicated retrieval of accidentally lost or deleted data as it is automatically backed up.