This Master’s Thesis investigates the possible use of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) service model in the case company and proposes a new cloud service based operational model for it. IaaS represents the service model where IT infrastructure is delivered to the customers through the network by the cloud service providers. The proposed operational model aims to addresses the needs for improving business agility and cost efficiency, as commissioned by the IT Infrastructure department of the case company.

The objective of this thesis is to review the current IT operational model existing in the case company and analyze possible impacts of the cloud services on the organization. The study is conducted using a case study research approach. The data collection includes methods such as scrutinizing the business requirements from the organization, its current operational model, examining the company documentation, and conducting a series of interviews and discussions with key stakeholders. The impact of the cloud services to organization was analysed with the help of a conceptual framework which was developed based on extensively selected academic articles and books.

The outcome of the thesis is a proposed cloud service based operational model. The pro-posed operational model is based on the Hybrid Cloud IT deployment model, a combination of the the Private Cloud IT (on-premises) and Private Cloud IT (off-premises) deployment models. This type of the Hybrid Cloud IT model is selected among the available alternatives by comparing benefits and challenges of each option, and also examined against the business requirements from the case company. The proposed operational model is described with the help of its key elements such as Organizational Structure, Governance, Sourcing, Operational processes, Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and Risk Analysis.

The outcome of the thesis helps the management of the case company in decision-making when taking cloud services into use. It provides the company-adjusted recommendations for the selection of a cloud deployment model and proposes a cloud service based operational model which could best suit the case company context. Many companies around the globe face similar challenges. This thesis provides an example of putting the IaaS service model into a real-life company context, and thus helps in adopting cloud service technologies.