Cloud computing is more complex than ever in today’s digital infrastructure landscape. For enterprises, a major goal that has emerged is the quest to optimize cloud strategies to suit business needs, which accounts for the rise in cloud repatriation and the resurgence of private cloud adoption as companies seek the solution that is right for them. Recently, another shift is taking place, towards innovative solutions that can keep up with today’s demands through more specialized and powerful infrastructure. Among these, bare metal cloud has emerged as a game-changer.
Understanding Bare Metal Cloud
Bare metal cloud offers direct access to hardware resources by providing users with dedicated physical servers. When a bare metal server is requested, the cloud provider rapidly provisions the hardware, installs the requested operating system and any accompanying software, and hands control over to the operator. From there, the operator can manage the resources through web-based portals or APIs. Through these interfaces, clients have the power to easily scale infrastructure up or down as needed.
While most traditional cloud services rely on virtualization and resource sharing among users, bare metal solutions ensure that clients do not have to share physical hardware through their unique single-tenant architecture, meaning that each server is dedicated to a single user. This prevents the issues of performance that can arise in multi-tenant environments by eliminating competition for resources. Clients also have full control over the physical server, giving them exclusive access to the infrastructure’s full processing power, memory, and storage. For clients that prioritize the ability to customize at the hardware level, this is ideal.
Advantages of Bare Metal Cloud
Depending on business needs, modern enterprises may benefit significantly from switching to bare metal cloud infrastructure. For example, bare metal solutions can deliver high performance and lower latency when compared to other cloud infrastructure models due to a lack of the overhead that is usually caused by the hypervisors or virtualization layers common in traditional cloud solutions. Enterprises that value consistent, high-performance computing capabilities may consider a shift to bare metal cloud based on that need.
For businesses looking to increase data protection, the dedicated nature of bare metal servers is appealing. By eliminating the shared resources common in other cloud models, the risk of breaches and other vulnerabilities seen in multi-tenant environments is reduced. Going hand in hand with security, control over data and the freedom to customize is also a priority for today’s enterprises. Bare metal cloud gives operators the freedom to install and configure any certified operating system or software stack, tailored to specific needs. This keeps business growth from being stunted by vendor lock-in, standard regulations, or external limitations, offering a flexibility that is ideal for enterprises requiring specific configurations and optimizations for their workloads.
The freedom associated with bare metal cloud also makes it a cost-effective option for some organizations, since it brings a pay-per-use model to the fold that lets users scale infrastructure as needed without overbuying, being subjected to hidden fees, or maintaining hardware that isn’t being used. While bare metal cloud may cost more upfront when compared to other solutions, their cost-effectiveness will show in the long run with resource-intensive workloads. Ultimately, by offering the flexibility of traditional cloud services combined with the power and security of dedicated hardware, bare metal cloud bridges the gap between these technologies and offers users the best of both worlds.
The Future of Bare Metal Cloud
With the growing demand for high-performance solutions driven by the rise of AI, among other factors, bare metal cloud is gaining momentum. Today’s technological landscape demands infrastructure that can handle large computational loads, and bare metal solutions are well-suited to meet that demand. They also play a crucial role in the development and deployment of AI and machine learning applications, since they provide the high-performance computing needed to efficiently train large-scale models. In particular, the low latency for real-time processing associated with this technology makes bare metal cloud ideal for time-sensitive AI applications like natural language processing tools.
Looking to the future, bare metal cloud may be leveraged by data scientists and researchers to train complex neural networks and machine learning models more quickly and cost-effectively than with traditional cloud or on-premises solutions. It can also be used by enterprises that are deploying AI-powered services, such as fraud detection systems. In fact, certain sectors at the forefront of adopting bare metal cloud due to their specific needs. These include healthcare and finance, two industries that handle sensitive data and follow strict regulatory requirements when it comes to data security and privacy. The dedicated resources and enhanced security features promised by bare metal cloud make it an excellent option for achieving compliance.
With enterprises continuing to evaluate their cloud strategies as part of a broader cloud repatriation movement, many are looking into more sophisticated hybrid cloud models and integrating bare metal solutions into those environments. As more and more businesses rethink how and where to host their data, bare metal solutions offer a chance to maintain the benefits of cloud computing while regaining control over your infrastructure.
This approach allows you to reap the benefits of both traditional cloud services and bare metal infrastructure, optimizing your workload across different platforms. Ultimately, the best solution for you is the one that aligns with your enterprise’s specific needs, and the customization, security, and flexibility options offered by bare metal cloud make a compelling case for this infrastructure. As the technology matures, bare metal cloud is poised to drive innovation and bring to light new possibilities in the world of cloud computing.
By Sandro D’Alessandro, Hivelocity Product Manager