Cloud Service Models: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS 🏢🛠️

Intermediate

Understanding the primary cloud service models is crucial:

  • IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): Provides virtualized hardware resources like servers, storage, and networking. Users manage OS and applications. Example: Amazon EC2, Google Cloud Compute.

  • PaaS (Platform as a Service): Offers development platforms—operating systems, runtime, and middleware—letting developers focus on code. Example: Google App Engine, Heroku.

  • SaaS (Software as a Service): Delivers software applications via the internet on a subscription basis. Users access apps through browsers. Example: Google Workspace, Salesforce.

| Model   | Control        | Focus                   | Use Cases                       |
|---------|----------------|-------------------------|---------------------------------|
| IaaS    | Infrastructure | Hardware management     | Hosting, Data storage           |
| PaaS    | Platform       | Application development | App development, testing        |
| SaaS    | End-user       | Software use            | Email, CRM, Collaboration tools |