What Is PaaS? A Complete Guide to Platform as a Service

PaaS stands for "platform as a service." PaaS is a cloud computing service model that provides both an IT infrastructure and cloud application development platform to clients over the Internet.
Common PaaS services include IT infrastructure—such as data centers, servers, and networking—and the management of application development tools, middleware, operating systems, runtime, virtualization, and databases. (PaaS providers do not manage the applications and services that clients develop using the provider's platform.)

Clients may choose from three different types of cloud host models: a private cloud dedicated to a single customer, a public cloud used by numerous customers, or a hybrid cloud that’s a cross between a private and public. PaaS providers typically charge clients a flat monthly fee or pay-as-you-go pricing.

SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS are the three primary cloud computing models, each revolving around cloud service providers that grant customers access to their own cloud-hosted data centers.

1. 1. SaaS (software as a service): SaaS vendors offer cloud service and handle all aspects of managing the software and hardware. In the SaaS model, customers do not have to oversee security upgrades, support, and maintenance. SaaS is useful for new businesses looking to get off the ground fast with low upfront costs.
2. 2. IaaS (infrastructure as a service): IaaS providers host physical data centers, manage servers, storage, virtualization machines, firewalls, and security. Unlike SaaS, IaaS end users must control and run their own hosted applications, development management tools, and database management tools. Businesses might use IaaS for data storage and backup, web hosting, and high-performance computing needs.
3. 3. PaaS (platform as a service): PaaS providers give their clients a platform to develop, use, and control business applications without the complex IT infrastructure needed for those activities. In short, PaaS providers manage everything for their clients except the applications and services developed by the user. Businesses might use PaaS when they need a development framework or data analytics to make more informed business decisions.

PaaS helps users work through the standard web application lifecycle—from development and testing to launching and updating.

1. 1. Application development: The compute resources, infrastructure, pre-set workflows, and scalability features of PaaS offerings give software development teams convenient tools to reduce the amount of coding needed to build web applications.
2. 2. Building and managing APIs: The PaaS model is useful for businesses looking to build and manage microservices and application programming interfaces (APIs).
3. 3. Database management: PaaS providers can build and manage a company's database so that it has automated provisioning and administration functions that make the database easy for clients to use.
4. 4. IoT processes: Internet of things (IoT) refers to all devices and appliances connected to the Internet. PaaS supports the programming languages, features, and app environments necessary for deploying IoT processes.

The extra features and tools of the PaaS model come with several benefits:

1. 1. PaaS speeds up development time. The PaaS vendor automates database provisioning and backend processes so that DevOps teams can optimize their coding time and develop their applications as fast as possible.
2. 2. The services are accessible from anywhere. Since PaaS is a cloud computing service model, development teams can log into the platform and access the development environment remotely.
3. 3. PaaS is cost-effective. Companies can avoid paying the high upfront costs associated with purchasing and maintaining an on-premise data center.
4. 4. The service makes scalability more efficient. With PaaS, businesses can easily scale their resources up and down because they don't need to buy more hardware or waste unnecessary hardware due to fluctuations in demand.

Before selecting a PaaS provider, there are some disadvantages of the model to consider:

1. 1. Functionality: Functionality is dependent on the provider. Since the PaaS provider completely controls the IT infrastructure, software or hardware issues on the provider's end may cause downtime that's out of the user's control.
2. 2. Security risks: In the PaaS model, users are in charge of managing the applications that they build, which means the provider does not handle ensuring the security of those applications.
3. 3. Provider lock-in: If a client grows unsatisfied with their provider, switching to a new provider may be inconvenient since the client will most likely need to rebuild parts of their applications to run on a new platform.

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