Have you considered migrating your business to the cloud? If yes, then you may have heard of the acronyms SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. These are the three main cloud computing service, delivery models. These cloud computing models are different from one another but are not competitive. Sometimes, organizations may need to use all three models to fulfill their business requirements.
A comparison of SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS models will help you understand what works best for your business.
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What is SaaS?
SaaS( Software as a Service) is a service delivery model where software or applications are hosted on a server and you pay a fee to use that software. SaaS is one of the most commonly used options in the cloud market. With SaaS, you can connect and use cloud-based software and apps over the Internet through your web browser.
Email, calendars, and office tools are the most common SaaS tools accessed over the Internet. Web scraping Walmart tools are also commonly used SaaS applications. If you are looking for a Javascript web scraper or one in Python, PHP, or R, you are sure to find it in a SaaS platform.
Advantages and disadvantages of SaaS
SaaS eliminates the need to install, run, maintain and manage software applications on your computer. Applications are available over the Internet, offering convenience and accessibility. You can access SaaS applications from any device, as long as the device has an active internet connection. SaaS service providers also offer convenient subscription plans. You are aware of how much the application will cost so that you can budget accordingly. SaaS offers scalability, making it ideal for small, medium, as well as large enterprises.
The disadvantage of SaaS is that you do not own the software. Since a product is sold as a service, there is no control you have over the product.
Examples of SaaS applications
There are several SaaS solutions available, and you may even have used a few of them. If you use Gmail or Microsoft Office 365 for your email, you are already using SaaS applications. Other examples of SaaS applications include Google Drive, Dropbox, and Salesforce CRM.
What is PaaS?
In terms of PaaS (Platform as a Service) models, third-party service providers deliver hardware and software tools to users over the Internet. Applications such as development tools, middleware, and databases can be accessed on these platforms.
The PaaS service delivery model is ideal for developers who want to get the necessary resources to build and implement applications. They do not want to worry about hardware or software.
Advantages and disadvantages of PaaS
The biggest advantage of PaaS is that the platform is managed and maintained by the service provider and not you. You get a platform to develop unique, custom software, without worrying about other tasks.
The disadvantage of PaaS is that you are dependent on your service provider. If you do not choose your PaaS platform carefully, you may be limited by the limitations of the platform. You may not be able to carry out the developments you want to.
Examples of PaaS
AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Microsoft Windows Azure, Heroku, Force.com, Google App Engine, Apache Stratos, and OpenShift are some of the most popular examples.
What is IaaS?
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) offers computing, networking, and storage resources over the Internet. With IaaS, you do not need to invest in on-premise infrastructure and expensive on-site resources. It is beneficial to all businesses, regardless of size, as it gives complete control over the infrastructure and works on a pay-as-you-use model.
Advantages and disadvantages of IaaS
IaaS can significantly reduce costs by eliminating the need to install and maintain expensive on-premise infrastructure. The solutions offer flexibility and scalability and can be changed or replaced easily to meet your business requirements. The control of the infrastructure is in your hands.
The disadvantage is that control of resources and centralization is derived from an external provider.
Examples of IaaS
Some popular examples of IaaS include DigitalOcean, Linode, Rackspace, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco Metacloud, and Microsoft Azure.
Conclusion
Cloud computing has a lot to offer – more than most people realize. The cloud computing solution that you opt for will depend on your business and its requirements. There are different levels of services available, and you can choose the one that best suits your needs.