Cloud Services For Dummies, IBM Limited Edition  38 For this science services provider, the benefits of a public  cloud solution included A large insurance provider in North America required a  cost-effective computer infrastructure to support quarterly  and year-end batch processing for capital reserves and risk  reporting (required by law at state and federal levels in the  U.S.). During such peak periods, computing capacity needs  routinely quadruple. Purchasing capacity to meet such needs  could cost millions. Naturally, this insurer wanted to meet its  peak demands without over-spending on computing capacity  that would go underutilized during off-peak times. A public cloud with IaaS capability provides a stable and reliable platform for provisioning compute capability and  related infrastructure when needed. When the peak subsides,  this environment enables quick and easy de-provisioning  of added capacity as well. For this insurer, using the public  cloud let it purchase extra capacity only when added work  justified its use and saved it 75 percent as compared to the  cost of acquiring such capacity in-house. The benefits to this insurance provider included the following: These materials are the copyright of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and any  dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. ✓ Scaling computing capacity and infrastructure up and  down to match actual demand over time ✓ Maintaining a current infrastructure, without incurring  capital costs for hardware or operating costs for software  and services ✓ Not paying for underutilized computing capacity just to  make sure it’s available only when peak times occur ✓ Creation of a custom cloud-hosted software platform  designed specifically to meet genome processing needs ✓ Ability to scale to meet information processing and data  handling needs for genome research ✓ Ongoing access to current infrastructure (systems, software, and communications) without requiring a substantial investment in hardware or software Batch workloads