Ever since Amazon’s successful release of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), more and more competitors have followed suit and invested in the IaaS field. Such is the current competition among cloud providers that, if a customer is not happy with one provider, they can simply pick-and-choose between countless others until they find a more suitable option. For these cloud providers in a world where the customer is in the driving seat, providing high-quality IaaS services carries the problems of time costs and missed opportunities; for the customer, they simply want an appropriate solution for today and tomorrow. Likewise, they want an answer to the question: Which IaaS is best suited to me and my business environment?
IaaS – What You Need to Know
Before we look into the advantages of IaaS from the customer’s perspective, it is necessary to define the ins and outs of IaaS. Cloud providers leverage IaaS products to provide users with all aspects of IT infrastructure, including computing, storage, networks and other IT essentials, allowing users to effortlessly run and deploy software, OSs, and whatever they may need. By their very nature, any IaaS product means users do not need to purchase equipment or manage data facilities, but simply need to decide on the IT design, storage method, and application deployment types. What’s more, IaaS allows users to choose and implement between multiple network applications, such as firewalls, routers, and load balancers, making deployment and installation cheaper than ever before.
IaaS provides users with much-needed computing, storage and network resources, as well as OSs and databases, providing a reliable infrastructure that supports current and future business needs and applications. IaaS provides services from the following aspects: reliability and performance, full-stack capabilities, and enterprise services.
Reliability and Performance
If you look at companies who have successfully deployed cloud services in the form of IaaS or Software as a Service (SaaS), the underlying factor for customer attrition is solid user experience and service uptime. The cost and scalability of one product can be discussed, but ultimately, if said product cannot provide consistent performance, then the user is going to choose a different provider. This is particularly applicable to enterprise users, who will wander if basic availability and quick response of key applications cannot be ensured.
For most products, general-purpose application systems, such as OSs and databases, provide more-or-less the same capabilities and functions. Needless to say it can be frustrating for customers trying to assess the differences between products. The key to finding the product that really stands out in terms of performance and reliability stems from the provider's computing, storage, and network capabilities and the interoperability between software and hardware. To produce a service that comprises these strong features, cloud providers must have a deep understanding of the cloud, pipe, and device. That being said, the accumulation of such knowledge does not happen overnight.
Full-Stack Capabilities
The rise of interconnected terminals, mobility, Big Data, Internet of Everything, and AI means traditional enterprises are faced with the challenge of transforming digitally. Enterprises need to consider migrating their conventional business to the cloud, and also develop innovative distributed applications on the cloud through emerging technologies. The top IaaS service provides flexible full-stack cloud platforms featuring long-lasting performance that support chips, hardware, software, and other solutions at all layers. The full-stack cloud platform will act as a catalyst for future business, helping users leapfrog their competitors whose infrastructure cannot keep up.
Enterprise Services
One of the most overlooked services provided by IaaS, enterprise services provide a wide range of cloud services to users who want to gain access and support to the cloud. Enterprise services using IaaS products are different from conventional products sold from a vendor, because the provider is selling the full-range of services, not just a product. That is to say with a vendor, it is a one-time purchase only each time, but with a provider, it's a longer process involving solutions tailored to the individual customer. This aspect is especially relevant to enterprise users whose high requirements are more likely to need the support found within the cloud.
One important requirement of enterprise users with cloud access is access to industry know-how from Huawei and other industry experts that can help facilitate current and future business. Equipped with powerful online and offline services, these services allow users the ability to share their own experience and business insights and offer a reliable support platform for customers worldwide, providing a strong online presence.
Finding a product that excels in all of these aspects is difficult for most enterprises, but it is a walk in the park for HUAWEI CLOUD. With its impressive back catalogue of successful deployments and industry partnerships across the globe, HUAWEI CLOUD is the obvious go-to for any and all enterprises looking to scale out digitally at a competitive price.
HUAWEI CLOUD and IaaS
Huawei has leveraged its 30+ years of accumulated technology, innovation, and expertise in the IT infrastructure field to offer a most reliable product portfolio in the industry. Specializing in communication field comprising intelligent terminals and storage, networks, and computing fields, HUAWEI CLOUD has been the go-to cloud provider for many consumers, operators, and enterprises alike. Now, Huawei is transferring its technical insights to HUAWEI CLOUD, providing a one-stop platform to help promote the technical innovation of its customers.
Below lists a detailed history of Huawei’s achievements in computing, storage, and networks.
Computing Services
2002 Started to invest in server
2003 Release first-generation blade server
2008 First steps into cloud computing field and launch of product development
2009 Release of Huawei-researched computing product GalaX8800
2012 Released virtualization platform FusionCompute
2015 Released Huawei Enterprise Cloud and subsequent cloud architecture
2016 Developed SDI card
Released the multi-dimensional offloading technology
Launched KunLun – the largest Bare Metal Server in the public cloud business
2017 Released self-developed intelligent cloud hardware platform Atlas
Released heterogeneous computing services and GPU- and FPGA-accelerated Cloud Servers
Developed intelligent NICs featuring supreme performance
Launched the Multiplex Dedicated Cloud solution
2018 Launched C3 Elastic Cloud Server (ECS) with excellent computing performance
Released C3ne ECS with network forwarding for tens of millions of packets
Released new Polaris computing framework
Released new-gen compute instance powered on Intel V6 CPU
Released the industry's first mobile phone cloud solution
Storage Services
2002 Started to invest in R&D of storage products
2004 Released the first generation SAN storage architecture
2007 Released the first generation fiber optic SAN storage
Released industry's first SSD PCIe acceleration card
2008 Released the first virtual storage products for the Chinese market
2009 First commercial adoption of storage services in HUAWEI CLOUD (adopter: China Mobile, Guangdong)
2010 Released the first-gen private cloud object-based storage system UDS
2011 Started to invest in research of distributed block storage
2012 Cloud-based, massive, and high-end storage made available in service profile
2013 Released the world's fastest all-in-one SAP HANA appliance
Delivered the world's biggest SAP HANA cluster
2014 First commercial deployment of PB-level software-defined storage (SDS)
Huawei Storage rises to Gartner's Challenger Quadrant
2015 Launched initial versions of Object Storage Service (OBS) and Elastic Volume Service (EVS)
2016 Huawei Storage breaks into Gartner's Leaders Quadrant
2017 Released OBS 2.0 and EVS 2.0
Launched Distributed Storage Service (DDS)
2018 Released OBS 3.0 featuring ultra-smart utility and the Data+ strategy
Released EVS3.0, the industry's first hard disk to run at 50 μs
Launched the Hybrid Cloud Disaster Recovery and Backup solution
Network Services
2000 Released high-end router
2004 Released core router
2012 Released CloudEngine series of data center switches
2014 Released industry's first SDN controller for carrier adoption
2015 Network services placed online on public cloud platform, attesting to Huawei's global strengths in networks
2017 Released Elastic Load Balance (ELB) service able to handle up to 60 million concurrent operations so organizations of all sizes can easily handle service spikes
2018 Achieved the 15-million scale in forwarding instances (industry milestone)
First to produce IPv4 IPv6 dual-stack capabilities for in-country use, took the lead in supporting IPv6 native applications
Released Cloud Connect solution that allows organizations to build globally connected cloud networks within minutes
The achievements listed above demonstrate the unique position that HUAWEI CLOUD holds in the industry.
Rising from the Strong Performer to Leader Quadrant
Forrester, the global research authority, recently published a report titled The Forrester Wave™: Full-Stack Public Cloud Development Platforms In China, Q3 2018, which evaluated the business, product, and market strategies of public cloud companies operating in China. It reported HUAWEI CLOUD is an industry leader in terms of technical and full-stack product capabilities covering all IT layers, in particular the localization services and ecosystem. This is a big step up from the 2016, where HUAWEI CLOUD was reported as a strong performer. Huawei has stepped into the spotlight with its achievements in the marketplace and recognition from internationally renowned research firms.
Since 2016, HUAWEI CLOUD has released 120 services covering 16 key fields, as well as over 60 solutions, and as of 2018, it has released 872 applications. What’s more, high efficiency in product development and application roll-out has caused the market revenue to increase at a year-on-year rate of 700%. All of which is evidence that, after 30 years of striving to be the best in the IT industry, Huawei is reaching its goals.
Reliable. This word is most associated with Huawei and its products. Being a leader in chips, hardware and software integration, operating systems, security, and database development means customers can place their full confidence in the full-stack capabilities of the Huawei portfolio. With a comprehensive back catalogue of innovative products and successful use cases, Huawei is the obvious choice for enterprises wanting to transform their business digitally.
