Acronyms abound in the IT industry, and it’s easy to get lost in all the coded jargon. The following acronyms stand for the three main types of cloud computing service models: IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), and SaaS (Software as a Service).
We recently looked at IaaS and what benefits it holds. Now we turn our focus to Platform as a Service or PaaS. Microsoft describes Platform as a Service as a complete development and deployment environment in the cloud, with resources that enable you to deliver everything from simple cloud-based apps to sophisticated, cloud-enabled enterprise applications.
What do we mean by Platform as a Service?
The phrase “as a Service,” as with IaaS, essentially means PaaS is a service delivered over the internet. A third-party provider provides users with hardware and software tools, typically those required for application development & deployment, via the internet. PaaS does not replace a company’s IT infrastructure for software development entirely. The offerings are typically accessed through a web browser on a pay-per-use or monthly fee basis.
In contrast to IaaS, a provider provides more of the application stack, including operating systems, middleware (such as databases), and other runtimes in the cloud environment. Google App Engine, for example, is a PaaS product that allows users to create and run applications on Google’s platform. PaaS services such as application hosting, app design and development, app testing and deployment, information security, and Java development can all be delivered via public, private, or hybrid clouds.
PaaS is commonly used as a development framework, allowing developers to create or customise cloud-based applications, as well as analyse and mine company data to uncover insights and patterns and predict outcomes.
This is what is Included in PaaS
PaaS, like IaaS, includes infrastructure components like servers, storage, and networking, but it also includes middleware, development tools, business intelligence (BI) services, database management systems, and other services.
- Infrastructure: Everything that IaaS entails, including the management of servers, storage, data centres and networking resources.
- Development tools: Customers can use PaaS to build and manage applications, including a debugger, source code editor and compiler.
- Middleware: The software that connects operating systems and end-user applications.
- OSes: Operating systems on which applications run and from which developers build applications.
- Databases: Methods for structuring your data, often with database management tools included.
- Business intelligence services: Monitoring and management tools to assist organisations in understanding how PaaS is used.
The Benefits of PaaS
PaaS offers the same advantages as IaaS, but it also offers a host of additional features which come with added advantages.
– Save you time
PaaS saves you time by incorporating pre-coded application components into the platform and focuses on software development. The process is simplified, and the steps required to build the software’s foundation are eliminated. PaaS improves application agility and allows you to rapidly deploy environments for development, testing and production.
PaaS can also be used to accelerate the time to market of an application by automating or eliminating housekeeping and maintenance tasks.
– Save you money
With PaaS organisations have no need to purchase hardware or pay expenses during downtime. PaaS eliminates the need to install in-house hardware and software to develop or run a new application. According to an article on Oracle.com, PaaS techniques offer organisations a 50% savings on operational costs.
You can expand your team’s development capabilities without hiring new employees. Because of the pay-as-you-go model, individuals and organisations can use sophisticated development software as well as business intelligence and analytics tools that they could not afford to buy outright. This enables them to create apps for multiple platforms quickly and easily.
– Accessibly from various locations
Because software and hardware are delivered over the internet, development teams can collaborate on projects even if they are geographically separated.
– Simplicity and convenience for users
Within the same integrated environment, you can effectively manage the application’s lifecycle, from building, testing, and deploying to managing and updating. Furthermore, because PaaS providers oversee various infrastructure management tasks, the load balancing, scaling, and distributing of new dependent services is simplified.
– Cross platform development
PaaS is used by many developers to create cross-platform apps because it provides a quick, flexible, and dynamic tool for creating an application that can run on almost any device. PaaS enables businesses to quickly and easily build and run applications.
– Simple to adapt and change
PaaS allows businesses to adapt to new offerings without completely overhauling their business processes. Because PaaS supports newer programming languages and technologies, developers can use it to introduce new channels of technical growth, such as container technology and serverless functions.
