All three of these refer to the ways in which one can describe how they want to use cloud services available for their business. But they all vary in some or other ways. In this article, we will discuss the difference between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. Read ahead to know what purpose each of them serves.
What is IAAS?
IAAS is an acronym for Infrastructure As A Service. It acts as a means of delivering on-demand services and computing infrastructure. It works very similarly to traditional computer hardware (via operating systems, networks, servers, etc.), but the only difference is that it operates virtually. It means that the IT managers don’t need to buy physical hardware. They can directly purchase the infrastructure in the form of a virtual service from an IaaS provider.
IaaS forms one of the three fundamental models of cloud service network OS. Whenever a user purchases software, server, cloud space, network equipment, and more, the IaaS provider rents those resources in the form of fully outsourced service (as a demand model). IaaS supports dynamic scaling and distributes its resources as a service. It thus, generally, allows multiple users on one piece of hardware.
These are easily scalable services. They offer their users flexible cloud computing along with complete control over their company’s infrastructure. A few examples of IaaS are Google Computing Engine, AWS (Amazon Web Services), etc.
What is PAAS?
PAAS is an acronym for Platform As A Service, which is a cloud delivery service model for various applications. SaaS provides its users with an elastic scaling of their apps. So the developers can build various services and applications over the internet itself. These services can be private, public, or even hybrid.
Developers and companies can use the framework (that PaaS provides) to easily and quickly customize (and build) apps. As a result, the developers can focus on the application software instead while still not paying attention to managing various infrastructure matters (like software updates, operating systems, etc.). So, the IT managers only need to manage the software/application and remove the rest of the clutter. A few examples of PaaS include Apple Developer Xcode, Google App Engine, Microsoft Azure, etc.
What is SAAS?
SAAS is an acronym for Service As A Software. Out of all the cloud services, it is the most prevalent one- allowing its users to run existing online apps. SaaS provides various software like word processing, email, design software, collaboration software, and other application hosts. One can access these SaaS applications directly through web browsers- eliminating the need to install any application on a person’s workstation.
A SaaS vendor manages operating systems, servers, data, applications, storage, and many more. Thus, an IT manager only needs to worry about software usage and employee access to it. SaaS works as a model software- deployed in the form of hosting service that anyone can access (in the form of Output Re-written / Rephrased Text) via the internet or by using a software delivery model.
The SaaS hosts its clients’ software and the associated data centrally. So, the clients can access them using an online browser via the web. The SaaS services assist in the deployment and development of modern apps. A few examples of SaaS services include Google G Suite, Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce, etc.
Difference Between IAAS, PAAS and SAAS
| Parameters | IAAS | PAAS | SAAS |
| Full-Form | IaaS is an acronym for Infrastructure As A Service. | PaaS is an acronym for Platform As A Service. | SaaS is an acronym for Software As A Service. |
| Access | The IaaS service provides its users with access to various resources like virtual storage and virtual machines. | Using the PaaS services, users can get access to a runtime environment (for the development and deployment of applications and tools). | The SaaS services give access to all of their services to the end-users, where it’s application hosting, storage, or any other services. |
| Technical Understanding | A user requires technical knowledge to make use of IaaS services. | One must acquire the basic knowledge of the concerned subjects to understand the setup of the PaaS services. | You don’t need to know any technicalities to understand and use the SaaS services- the service provider can handle everything. |
| Used By | The network architects primarily use the IaaS. | Developers mainly make use of PaaS. | An end-user generally uses SaaS. |
| Model | The IaaS is a service model. It functions to provide various visualized computing resources all over the internet. | PaaS is a cloud computing model. It mainly delivers the tools required for developing various applications. | SaaS is a service model for cloud computing services. They mainly host various software and make them available for the clients. |
| Popularity | IaaS is very popular among researchers and developers. | PaaS is very common among developers who mainly focus on app and script development. | The SaaS services are very common among consumers and companies for networking, sharing emails, files, etc. |
| Cloud Services | VCloud Express, Sun, Amazon Web Services. | Google and Facebook (and other search engines). | Google and Facebook apps, MS Office Web. |
| Enterprise Services | Virtual Private Cloud by AWS. | MS Azure. | Cloud Analysis from IBM. |
| Outsourced form of Cloud Services | Salesforce. | Gigaspaces, Force.com. | Terremark, AWS. |
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