Difference Between IaaS PaaS and SaaS

The main difference between IaaS PaaS and SaaS is that the IaaS provides access to resources such as virtual machines and virtual storage while the PaaS provides runtime environments, development, and deployment tools for applications and SaaS provides software as a service to the end users.

Cloud computing is a major technology in the modern world. It helps to obtain hardware, software and other infrastructural resources necessary for business organizations over the internet. It improves scalability and resource sharing, reduces cost and provides platform independence. There are three service models in cloud computing. They are IaaS, PaaS and SaaS.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is IaaS
     – Definition, Usage
2. What is PaaS
     – Definition, Usage
3. What is SaaS
     – Definition, Usage
4. Difference Between IaaS PaaS and SaaS
    – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

IaaS, PaaS, SaaS Cloud Computing

What is IaaS

IaaS stands for Infrastructure as a Service. It allows accessing resources such as physical machines, virtual machines, etc. Furthermore, it provides access to load balancers, software, virtual machine disk storage and Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN). The users have access to these resources through server virtualization. The users can run any software with the administrative access to virtual machines.

Figure 1: Cloud Computing

However, the virtual machines can become out of date with respect to security updates. Moreover, there can be data erase issues. The clients use virtual machines with common disk resources. The cloud provider should ensure that the next client who rent the resource will not observe the data belongs to the previous client.

What is PaaS

PaaS stands for Platform as a Service. It provides runtime environments for applications. It also provides development and deployment tools necessary for the application development. Furthermore, it allows the developers to create web applications. Microsoft Azure, Google App Engine are some examples of PaaS.  The developer can log on to these websites such as App Engine, Force.com and use the built-in API to create web applications easily.

PaaS provides a number of advantages. One is that the client does not have to purchase extensive hardware, servers etc. It is also easy to do scaling depending on the requirements. Overall, PaaS provides a browser-based development environment. It also offers built-in security, scalability and web service interfaces.

What is SaaS

SaaS stands for Software as a Service. It provides software applications to the end users as a service. These applications are deployed on a host service and the end users can access them through the internet. Human resource solutions, billing systems and help desk applications are some examples of SaaS.

Overall, SaaS makes software available over the internet. These applications do not require much maintenance at the end user. In other words, they require minimum client-side installation. There are no difficult configurations and no complex software requirement. SaaS is cost effective. It improves scalability and it is possible to upgrade and update.

However, there is network dependency and browser-based risks. SaaS applications are available only if the network is available. Furthermore, if the user visits a malicious browser, the SaaS application might affect the client details. To prevent that, he can use multiple browsers and use a specific browser to access SaaS application.

Difference Between IaaS PaaS and SaaS

Definition

IaaS is a service model in cloud computing that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. PaaS is a cloud computing model that delivers tools necessary for application development over the internet. SaaS is a service model in cloud computing that hosts software and makes them available for clients over the internet.

Stands for

IaaS stands for Infrastructure as a service. PaaS stands for Platform as a Service and SaaS stands for Software as a Service.

Usage

IaaS provides access to resources such as virtual machines, virtual storage, etc. PaaS provides runtime environments, development and deployment tools for applications. SaaS provides software as services to the end users.

Mainly Used By

Network architects use IaaS. Developers use PaaS and end users use SaaS.

Conclusion

IaaS, PaaS and SaaS are service models in cloud computing.  The difference between IaaS PaaS and SaaS is that the IaaS provides access to resources such as virtual machines and virtual storage while the PaaS provides runtime environments, development, and deployment tools for applications and SaaS provides software as a service to the end users.

Reference:

1. “Cloud Computing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).” Www.tutorialspoint.com, Tutorials Point, 8 Jan. 2018, Available here.
2. “Cloud Computing Platform as a Service (PaaS).” Www.tutorialspoint.com, Tutorials Point, 8 Jan. 2018, Available here.
3. “Cloud Computing Software as a Service (SaaS).” Www.tutorialspoint.com, Tutorials Point, 8 Jan. 2018, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “2153286” (CC0) via Pixabay