The Key To Scaling Your Startup at the Right Cost Point

Hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud are appealing because they promise accessibility, scalability and affordability. Service options and resource availability seem limitless. As a result, these platforms have traditionally attracted users and development startups to roll out their initial software services. Lex Boost, CEO, Leaseweb USA, talks about the challenges in scaling up and how startups can better navigate the pitfalls of high costs and lacking infrastructure support.

The World Economic Forum estimates that data produced per day could reach 463 exabytes by 2025Opens a new window . With the proverbial pile of data increasingly growing, it’s no wonder businesses first look toward the (public) cloud to power their infrastructure. 

Unfortunately, there’s more than what meets the eye. As businesses grow, their infrastructure needs to scale as well. Many IT teams find that it isn’t as easy to progress on their current public cloud platform cost-effectively as they initially thought. 

Short-term vs. Long-term Thinking 

Hyperscale platforms are mostly built from scratch. Despite many similarities across different vendors, each hyperscaler is built differently. As a result, there are many proprietary services. These individual services can make it increasingly challenging to leverage another platform with other benefits once a project gets started. This is where the term “vendor lock-in,” originated. One cannot necessarily work across multiple hyper-scale platforms. 

This situation is hazardous for startups because hyperscalers often attach high networking costs, developers may need to develop applications or services on other platforms. However, the “lock-in” can prevent this from happening fluidly. 

Startup organizations tend to be short-sighted when choosing a partner for their infrastructure. Long-term plans are often overlooked for what is best for the company in the now. Unfortunately, if an organization begins rolling out software services with a hyperscaler, it can quickly become costly to make a switch without compromising the integrity of services that have already started. 

Proper capacity planning and scalability seem to be a struggling area for budding businesses — and locking in with a hyperscaler can inhibit future growth. Luckily, there are other options available to power infrastructure while still taking advantage of the benefits of the public cloud. 

See More: Migrating Unstructured Data to Public Cloud? Hyperscalers May Not Know the Risks

The Best of Both Worlds: Benefits of Adding IaaS to Public Cloud Strategy 

The public cloud can be a great launching pad for emerging businesses. Supplementing with infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) solutions can mitigate some of its challenges. Choosing the right IaaS vendor can allow growth at lower competitive costs than its public cloud counterparts. Ideally, the IaaS provider would also work seamlessly together with existing public cloud platforms so organizations can invest in any level of space, security and protection based on the needs of each data segment.

Here’s how adding an IaaS can maximize the benefits of the public cloud: 

1. 1. Growing your company – IaaS consultants can help manage scaling and growth. Utilizing a hybrid cloud infrastructure rather than a public cloud can provide a growing business with numerous options to best adapt to business demands without the cost. The right IaaS solution also acts as a trusted advisor — providing the best opportunities for where the company is now and where it is going. 
   2. Competitive costs – Rather than built-in products and other proprietary services on the public cloud, IaaS solutions provide flexibility at a competitive cost point allowing organizations to pick options that are best suited to their budget. Organizations can compare different providers and secure the best available rates based on specific needs with no lock-in. 
   3. More control – The public cloud can sometimes take the autonomy out of molding an organization’s infrastructure. A hybrid approach allows more control for IT administrators to make changes when needed with a lot more flexibility. With a hybrid cloud infrastructure, organizations can develop and distribute their services when and how they want to. 

Looking Into the Future

The amount of data that organizations handle daily has massively increased over the past few years. For startups, all of that data is critical to use and store in the right place to work to the business’ benefit. 

By relying only on the public cloud, organizations risk spending more and not having the ability to scale without spending a pretty penny. Partnering with an IaaS provider to create a hybrid cloud infrastructure can allow startups to stay flexible and build independence for the future.

Are you ready to scale up your current cloud platform? What challenges are you facing? Share with us on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’re always listening!

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