The Next Big Thing in Tech: Anything as a Service

In the digitally-connected, increasingly tech-reliant world, businesses are opting for on-demand services. These are offered mainly ‘as-a-service’ or subscription model by cloud providers, blurring the lines between the digital and physical.

The global Everything as a Service (XaaS) market size was USD 349.71 billion in 2020. It is slated to grow from USD 419.02 billion in 2021 to USD 2,384.12 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 28.2%.

That says everything about why the future belongs to those who are XaaS-ey!

Before we dig deep into what makes XaaS the Next Big Thing in Tech, let’s understand why it is making headlines across industries.

What is Anything as a Service (XaaS)?

Anything as a Service (XaaS) is used to describe a wide category of services pertaining to cloud computing and remote access. It encompasses several tools, technologies, and products, which are packaged as a service over the internet and delivered to the users.

A case in point is that of General Motors’ Maxis. It’s a solution built by the firm to offer Data-as-a-Service platform in addition to its private cloud. This solution helps the firm to support varied strategies, including marketing, pricing, sales forecasting, and so on.

What are the benefits of XaaS?

XaaS brings several benefits to the table, namely:

• Cuts down costs – By opting for XaaS, businesses can drastically cut costs as they’ll be purchasing the services from the providers based on a subscription model. This eliminates the need to buy individual products, be it infrastructure, hardware, servers, software, and the like. They can instead purchase just what they require and keep paying on the fly. Need to cancel the subscription? There’s a provision for that as well, helping businesses scale (up or down) much more quickly.
• Enhances processes – The XaaS model lets businesses adapt to the rapidly evolving market conditions. With the multitenant approach, cloud services offer them flexibility, which was missing earlier in varied models. It’s less cumbersome for them to add or subtract the services and access new tech along with scaling the infrastructure. Businesses that work on the XaaS model tend to be more agile overall.
• Boosts high-value projects – XaaS helps businesses streamline their operations by freeing up resources, which can be used for more high-value projects. This helps them boost innovation in those projects by pushing more cutting-edge tools and technologies.
• Leaner business – Imagine a scenario where startups, SMBs and enterprises will do away with bulky, costly hardware. Likewise, they won’t need the assistance of full-time professionals deployed to build and develop the software or maintain the network. All they need to do is use XaaS, integrate and pivot.
• Better tech support – Since XaaS covers an array of products and services, businesses can expect enhanced tech support if any problems arise. In essence, the XaaS firm will act as an extension of their in-house teams. That’s one huge benefit right there!

Are there any disadvantages of XaaS?

Just every other product/service model including SaaS, XaaS too, has some potential drawbacks viz. downtime, performance issues, and increasing complexity. Sometimes there are integration issues, which can mar the ongoing management and compromise the security of the cloud services. It may also be difficult to troubleshoot some issues unless the IT operators have a thorough know-how of the latest tech to help you mitigate them.

How to get started with XaaS?

With every business having requirements that are as different as chalk and cheese, the implementation of XaaS will also vary and include:

1. Choosing the right partner or vendor so that they can tap into the maximum potential of XaaS.
2. Keeping a tab on the spending is also critical as not all XaaS subscriptions come at a budget.
3. Understanding the data to put on the cloud.
4. Following all the regulatory standards.

The Wrap

The popularity of XaaS companies is on the rise. There are no signs of the industry slowing down. Even with the drawbacks, you can place your bet on the model and take the leap of faith, trying it out on a small scale and seeing how it pans out for your business.