Over the last few years, cloud computing has grown drastically and it is no secret that the future of computing is in the cloud. In today's world where technology is unavoidable you need to adopt your business to fit in the cloud model.
There are three main service models of cloud computing. Most of us have already heard about them before as they’re all experiencing a surge in popularity as more businesses move to the Cloud.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Software as a Service (SaaS)
1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS is also known as Hardware as a Service (HaaS). It is a cloud computing offering in which a vendor provides users access to computing resources such as servers, storage and networking on a pay-as-you-go basis. Organizations use their own platforms and applications within a service provider’s infrastructure.
IaaS gives users cloud-based alternatives to on-premise infrastructure and that's the main advantage of using IaaS as it helps users to avoid the cost and complexity of purchasing and managing the physical servers.
Key Features of IaaS
- Simple Deployment - IaaS lets you quickly and easily deploy your infrastructure and make it up and running in no time
- Enhanced Scalability - Infrastructure is scalable depending on the processing and storage needs.
- Cost effective - Saves organization the costs of buying and maintaining their own hardware.
- Accessibility - Allows multiple users to access the infrastructure over the internet.
IaaS examples: AWS EC2, Rackspace, Google Compute Engine (GCE), etc.
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Platform as a service (PaaS) is a cloud computing offering that provides users with a cloud environment in which they can develop, manage and deliver applications. A developer can easily write the application and deploy it directly into PaaS layer. PaaS simplifies the app development process that minimizes your organizational costs.
Key Features of PaaS
- PaaS provides a platform with tools to test, develop and host applications in the same environment. This means developers do not need to start from scratch while creating any application and it saves them a lot of time on writing extensive code.
- Providers manage security, operating systems, server software and backups.
- Like other models, PaaS is accessible by multiple users over the internet.
All these features makes PaaS the most cost-effective and time-effective way for a developer to create a unique application.
Salesforce.com, Google Apps Engine(GAE), Windows Azure are some of the examples of PaaS
3. Software as a Service (SaaS)
Software as a service (SaaS) is a cloud computing offering that provides users with access to a vendor’s cloud-based software. Users do not need to install applications on their local devices. Instead, the applications are hosted by a cloud service provider and publicized to the customers over internet. Through the application, users can store and analyze data and collaborate on projects.
Key Features of SaaS
- SaaS vendors provide users with software and applications via a subscription model over the internet.
- Data is secure in the cloud; equipment failure does not result in loss of data.
- Depending on the service needs resources can be scaled up or down.
- Users can access the application from anywhere in the world. All they need is an device with internet connection.
- SaaS Providers manage, install or upgrade software.
Email, games, etc. are the software applications which are provided as a service through Internet.
Before we conclude this post, let's take a side-by-side look at each offering compared to the traditional On Premises model.
To summarize, IaaS is the perfect option which provide you with the maximum flexibility when it comes to hosting custom built apps with a general data center for data storage. If your requirement is a platform to develop and test your software and applications, then it is better to opt for PaaS. SaaS would suit your business well if you need cloud-based software like email, CRM, and productivity tools.
That's it for now.
Thank you for reading!
*** Explore | Share | Grow ***
Comentarios