IaaS, or infrastructure as a service, is a solution that has been gaining prominence in the market for reducing costs and increasing business flexibility. Its purpose is to offer cloud-based IT infrastructure, available on demand.
With this approach, businesses of all sizes can access essential resources for their digital operations without the need to maintain their own physical servers. This ensures greater agility, scalability, and efficiency in investments.
In this article, you will learn how IaaS works, its main advantages, examples of its application, and tips on how to become an expert on the subject. Let’s get started!
What is IaaS?
IaaS, which stands for Infrastructure as a Service, is a cloud computing model in which a provider makes IT resources such as servers, storage, networks, and operating systems available via the internet.
Through this structure, organizations can manage and scale their technological capacity with greater flexibility. Among the best-known IaaS providers are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
How does IaaS work?
As we have highlighted, IaaS provides cloud computing resources, such as servers, networks, and storage, so that companies can configure and manage their own IT environment remotely.
These resources are hosted in the provider’s data centers, and access is via online control panels or APIs, offering the freedom to create, adjust, and scale capacity according to demand.
The provider is responsible for maintaining and ensuring the functioning of the physical infrastructure, which reduces costs and speeds up the deployment of solutions. Since billing is based on usage, it is possible to increase capacity during periods of high demand or decrease it when consumption drops, ensuring flexibility and financial efficiency.
IaaS vs. PaaS vs. SaaS: Understand the Differences
Next, we will detail the main differences between these three models:
- IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): In this model, the provider supplies virtualized infrastructure resources, such as servers, networks, and storage. The company is responsible for managing the operating system, applications, and data, ensuring greater control and customization.
- PaaS (Platform as a Service): In the PaaS model, the provider offers all the tools necessary for companies to develop their applications. The infrastructure is fully managed by the provider, allowing the company to focus on creating and maintaining the software.
- SaaS (Software as a Service): Finally, we have the SaaS model, which consists of providing ready-to-use software, such as email, CRM, and collaborative tools. All management of the infrastructure, platform, and application is handled by the provider, making it easier for the end customer to use.
Each of the models mentioned offers different levels of autonomy and can be useful in various business scenarios. Therefore, study them carefully to choose the one that best meets your business needs.
Advantages of adopting the IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) model
1. Redução de custos
IaaS enables companies to reduce their physical infrastructure costs. This is because, as we highlighted earlier, servers, storage, and network consumption are on-demand, which means that the company only pays for what it uses.
2. Operational Efficiency
Since all these resources are always available for use, companies can quickly adjust their capacity according to demand, eliminating delays in infrastructure expansion and avoiding wasted resources.
3. Innovation
Models such as IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) allow IT teams to have more time to devote to strategic tasks and are free to test ideas and launch new products more quickly.
4. High reliability
IaaS services generally rely on redundancy and fault tolerance mechanisms, ensuring that even when problems arise in part of the infrastructure, operations continue without interruption.
5.Flexible scalability
One of the great advantages of IaaS is the ability to increase or decrease the amount of available resources almost instantly, accommodating peaks in demand without complications and reducing costs when demand decreases.
6. Optimized performance and low latency
Finally, IaaS providers typically operate in multiple regions around the world, allowing applications to be positioned close to end users. This reduces response times and improves the user experience.
Best Courses to Specialize in IaaS
Below, we have selected courses that are relevant for those who wish to specialize in IaaS:
1. Microsoft Azure Infrastructure — Complete Course – Higor Barbosa
If you want to delve deeper into IaaS and master cloud infrastructure, the Microsoft Azure Infrastructure — Complete Course is a great choice. With over 40 hours of practical and theoretical content, you will learn how to create, configure, and manage essential resources in Azure.
It is the ideal choice for IT professionals, developers, and analysts who want to expand their skills and work efficiently in cloud environments. The course offers a certificate of completion and can be accessed via TV, computer, or mobile device.
Main topics covered:
- Creating and managing virtual machines (Azure VM)
- Virtual networks and security (Azure Network, Key Vault)
- Monitoring, backup, and high availability
- Automation with Azure CLI and PowerShell
- Scalability and resource scaling
Course information:
- Certification: Yes, certificate of completion
- Duration: Over 40 hours of on-demand video
- Format: 100% online, with lifetime access
2. Microsoft Azure Infrastructure – Complete Course — Higor Barbosa
Next, we have Stephane Maarek’s Ultimate AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 2025 course, an excellent option for professionals who want to take their first steps into the AWS universe and understand more about infrastructure, networking, and storage resources.
In addition to teaching how the platform works, the content also covers several important topics, such as AWS fundamentals (EC2, S3, RDS, ELB, Auto Scaling), cloud networking and security concepts, hands-on practice with AWS Free Tier, and much more.
Main topics covered:
- AWS fundamentals (EC2, S3, RDS, ELB, Auto Scaling)
- Cloud networking and security concepts
- Practical experience with AWS Free Tier
- Complete preparation for CLF-C02 certification
- Official mock exam with detailed explanations
Course information:
- Certification: Yes, Udemy certificate of completion
- Duration: 14.5 hours of on-demand video
- Format: 100% online, with lifetime access
3. Terraform on Azure — Infrastructure as Code and DevOps – Higor Barbosa
Finally, let’s talk about Terraform on Azure — Infrastructure as Code and DevOps by Higor Barbosa, a course that teaches you how to create and manage infrastructure on Microsoft Azure in an automated way, using the powerful HashiCorp Terraform tool.
With over 18 hours of content, you will learn everything from scripting to integrations with Azure DevOps for automation, security, and infrastructure versioning. It is ideal for those looking to master IaaS and modern DevOps practices.
Main topics covered:
- Introduction to Azure and Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
- Provisioning resources with Terraform (VMs, databases, containers, and AKS)
- Organizing code, modules, workspaces, and Terragrunt
- Continuous integration and delivery with Azure DevOps
- Security and quality with Key Vault and Checkov
Course information:
- Certification: Yes, Udemy certificate of completion
- Duration: 18 hours and 53 minutes of on-demand video
- Format: 100% online, with lifetime access