When people hear the term ‘cloud computing,’ chances are they're imagining Software-as-a-Service (SaaS (News - Alert)), but there are many other facets to the cloud such as Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) – all with which cloud providers offer either physical or virtual machines and other resources to customers. IaaS in particular has a lot to offer businesses beyond other cloud models, especially as it continues to evolve and improve.

The benefits of an IaaS model include lightening the IT workload, allowing the department to focus more on tasks other than maintaining computing infrastructure and its supporting elements such as cooling systems. This reduction in infrastructure, of course, can also reduce expenses and energy consumption. The ability to scale services up or down depending on demand also further contributes to cost reduction. Furthermore, the ability to access enterprise infrastructure from anywhere goes hand in hand with the recent trend of incorporating mobile devices in enterprise networks.

With all of the tangible benefits that IaaS offers, it's no surprise that the industry reached into the billions in 2011 and is projected to grow exponentially in the years to come. In fact, in December 2012, new research provided by Synergy (News - Alert) Research Group revealed that IaaS and PaaS service provider revenue topped $2.75 billion in the first half of 2012.

Familiar names in this market include Amazon Web Services (News - Alert) (AWS), CA Technologies and Verizon; meanwhile, new names such as Datapipe are expected to significantly influence the IaaS market to further its growth. Datapipe (News - Alert) offers a single provider solution for managing and securing mission-critical IT services, including IaaS, PaaS, colocation and data centers. The company was also last month revealed to be an AWS Premier Consulting Partner, which was only one of the many honors and achievements the company raked in over the course of last year.

Recently, the company partnered with Insight UK to extend its InsightCloud services portfolio with Datapipe's managed services expertise. This partnership serves to further Datapipe's position as a provider of cloud hosting and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, in early January, Netcraft released a report naming the most reliable hosting company sites, putting Datapipe in the top five for December and naming it the number one most reliable hosting provider in October and November 2012. Thanks to rising stars such as Datapipe, IaaS will only continue to be widely seen and grow.

To learn more about this industry leader, visit www.datapipe.com.