In the IT sector, acronyms are prolific, and you will be forgiven for getting lost in all the coded jargon. A group of such acronyms are those that stand for the main forms of cloud computing service models available: IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service, PaaS: Platform as a Service, and SaaS: Software as a Service.
We recently looked at IaaS and what benefits it holds. Now we turn our focus to Platform as a Service or PaaS. Microsoft describes Platform as a Service as a complete development and deployment environment in the cloud, with resources that enable you to deliver everything from simple cloud-based apps to sophisticated, cloud-enabled enterprise applications.
What exactly is Platform as a Service?
The phrase “as a Service,” as with IaaS, essentially means PaaS is a service delivered over the internet. A third-party provider provides users with hardware and software tools, typically those required for application development & deployment via the internet. PaaS does not replace a company’s IT infrastructure for software development entirely. The offerings are typically accessed through a web browser on a pay-per-use or monthly fee basis.
A provider provides more of the application stack than with IaaS, including operating systems, middleware (such as databases), and other runtimes in the cloud environment. PaaS products include Google App Engine, which allows users to create applications and run them on Google’s platform. Application hosting, app design and development, app testing and deployment, information security, and Java development are all PaaS services that can be delivered via public, private, or hybrid clouds.
PaaS is commonly used as a development framework to allow developers to create or customise cloud-based applications, or to analyse and mine company data to find insights and patterns and predict outcomes.
What’s included in platform as a service?
Like IaaS, PaaS encompasses infrastructure components such as servers, storage, and networking, but it goes further and includes middleware, development tools, business intelligence (BI) services, database management systems and more.
- Infrastructure: Everything that IaaS entails, including the management of servers, storage, data centres and networking resources.
- Development tools: Customers can use PaaS to build and manage applications, including a debugger, source code editor and compiler.
- Middleware: The software that connects operating systems and end-user applications.
- Databases: Methods for structuring your data, often with database management tools included.
- Business intelligence services: Monitoring and management tools to assist organisations in understanding how PaaS is used.
What are the Advantages of PaaS?
PaaS offers the same advantages as IaaS, but because it offers additional features, it’s as though you have levelled up.
– It will save you time
By incorporating pre-coded application components into the platform, PaaS saves you time and focuses on software development. The process is simplified, and the steps required to build the software’s foundation are eliminated. PaaS improves application agility and allows you to rapidly deploy environments for development, testing and production.
PaaS can also be used to accelerate the time to market of an application by automating or eliminating housekeeping and maintenance tasks.
– It will save you money
With PaaS organisations have no need to purchase hardware or pay expenses during downtime. PaaS eliminates the need to install in-house hardware and software to develop or run a new application. According to an article on Oracle.com, PaaS techniques offer organisations a 50% saving on operational costs.
You can add development capabilities to your team’s skill set without hiring new employees. Individuals and organisations can use sophisticated development software and business intelligence and analytics tools that they could not afford to buy outright thanks to the pay-as-you-go model. This allows them to develop apps quickly and easily for multiple platforms.
– Supports remote / hybrid work conditions
Because software and hardware are delivered over the internet, development teams can collaborate on projects even if they are geographically separated.
– Simplicity and convenience for users
Within the same integrated environment, you can effectively manage the application’s lifecycle, from building, testing, and deploying to managing and updating. Furthermore, because PaaS providers oversee various infrastructure management tasks, the load balancing, scaling, and distributing of new dependent services is simplified.
– Cross platform development
Many developers use PaaS to build cross-platform apps because it provides a fast, flexible, and dynamic tool for creating an application that can run on almost any device. PaaS enables businesses to build and run applications quickly and easily.
– It’s simple to adapt and change
PaaS enables organisations to adapt to new offerings without having to completely overhaul their business processes. Developers can use the PaaS model to introduce new channels of technical growth, such as container technology and serverless functions, thanks to the support that PaaS provides for newer programming languages and technologies.
