IaaS, or Infrastructure as a Service, is a method based on providing computing capacity, storage, interconnection and other services via the Internet, and is currently a growing sector.
IaaS allows companies to use web-based operating systems and applications without having to develop and/or purchase their own cloud infrastructure.
IAAS : MAIN BENEFITS
- It allows cost savings, as it saves the costs of developing an own infrastructure to be able to use an operating system.
- Speed of adaptation: when launching a new product and/or service, the system can be adapted more quickly than if you had your own infrastructure.
- It is easier to focus on the Core Business The team does not have to be concerned with setting up an IT infrastructure, which increases the efficiency of the team.
- It makes the system more flexible to adapt to any changes in business conditions or software used.
MARKET BEHAVIOUR
The global IaaS market grew by 31.3 % between 2017 and 2018, from $24.7bn to $32.4bn in revenue. It can therefore be said to be an intensive growth sector, according to Gartner Inc.
LEADING COMPANIES IN THE IAAS SECTOR
Another year, Amazon was the world's leading provider of IaaS services, followed by Microsoft, Alibaba, Google and IBM. In 2018, these five companies accounted for 77 % of the global IaaS market as a whole, up from 73 % in 2017. So not only is the market as a whole growing, but the five leading companies in the market are growing ahead of the market.
For example, Microsoft the number two player in the sector, had revenues of USD 5 billion in 2018, up from USD 3.1 billion in 2017. On the other hand, Alibaba Cloud, the leading IaaS provider in China, experienced the highest growth among all the companies mentioned, up 92.6 % between 2017 and 2018. Google was number four, with a growth of 60.2 % and turnover since 2017.
MAJOR INVESTMENTS AND ACQUISITIONS IN THE IAAS SECTOR
From the point of view of investment activity, companies in the IaaS sector have recently been the focus of multiple rounds of financing and even of mergers and acquisitions.
Internationally, the US company Pipe raised in the last round of financing in which it participated, led by the investor Craft Ventures and announced last Wednesday 25 February 2020, a total amount of $ 6M.
At the European level, the German company EMNIFYIaas provider, which raised €8m in the last round of funding in which it participated, announced on 9 October 2019.
Finally, in our country, the company Gigas which in 2018 acquired two companies: Ability Data Services and SVT Cloud Security Services.