The concept of the cloud is pretty simple, its a great way to store important files and photos. Despite the general idea being simple, cloud terminology can really confuse consumers. Iaas, Paas and Saas, what does it all mean? Here is a brief explanation to help you out:
IaaS is Infrastructure-as-a-Service. These are the devices owned by the cloud provider as well as referring to resources that run “virtual” devices. It offers developers the benefit of not having to purchase hardware and they can access the information anywhere.
PaaS is utilized by developers. This is the space for consumers to create services or applications. There are four types:
Add-on Development- customization of SaaS applications, like Microsoft Word.
Stand-alone Development- does not include technical, licensing or financial dependencies Just provides a generalized development environment.
Application Delivery-Only: Doesn’t include development, debugging and test capabilities as part of the service.
Open Platform as a Service: does not include hosting and instead provides open source software for PaaS applications to run.
SaaS means Software-as-a-Service. This is a licensing model by the consumer. Google Docs and Microsoft 365 are good examples. There is no physical distribution and are often used in business. Because it reduces IT costs many companies use programs like Office, customer relationship management and collaboration software.
Another term that can be confusing, client doesn’t necessarily mean a person using the data but rather a physical device that is used to access the cloud, like a mobile device or a computer.
Most people use the cloud via SaaS applications and a few may use PaaS.Less than that own actual hardware that makes up the IaaS. Everyone uses a client to enter the cloud. While it may be difficult, understanding the cloud terminology can bring users one-step closer to understanding how the system truly works.