Whenever we hear the word “Cloud”, many things come to our mind. This is in itself a very big and broad topic and it includes almost every service which businesses are using these days online.
So, when some organization starts thinking about moving to the cloud or using cloud services, there are different models and each of them has different features to provide which we have to consider. So, in this article, we will be discussing three different models of cloud services.
Models of Cloud Services
There are 3 models of cloud services.
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
This is the most flexible model and it gives you full control over your hardware resources. As the name says, it gives us the infrastructure in terms of service. So here, you don’t have the infrastructure on your premise; instead, it is there on the cloud managed by the cloud services providers.
Here, we don’t own the hardware resources but we pay as we use, i.e., in simple terms, we rent it. This is an instant computing infrastructure solution.
In this model, the cloud provider ensures that the hardware is functional and is available for your use and the cloud users of this service (IaaS) have to manage the configurations on the hardware to make it work correctly. So, it is a shared responsibility of both - cloud provider and cloud user - to make things work and make it available for their end customers.
Use Cases
There could be different use cases when you can think of considering IaaS. Some of them are:
- When you have a limitation in terms of cost and you don’t want the hassle to manage your on-premise hardware, then you can think of moving to cloud using their infrastructure and can reduce your expenses, as using cloud infrastructure is cheaper than managing your own.
- This can also be useful when you have unpredictable storage demands.
- For rapidly growing companies or startups, IaaS can be a good option as you don’t have to spend time to buy new hardware as your needs change and evolve and you would be looking to only purchase how much you actually want to consume.
IaaS clients have more control over their infrastructure than users of PaaS or SaaS services do.
Platform as a service (IaaS)
PaaS provides an environment for building, testing, and deploying software applications. For example, if you want to deploy a web application using a PaaS model, then you don't need to install an operating system, a web server, or updates to the OS.
This means that with this model, the user doesn’t need to manage the server or infrastructure. Users can focus on creating and running applications rather than constructing and maintaining infrastructure and services.
Like IaaS, PaaS includes infrastructure—servers, storage and networking—but also middleware, development tools, business intelligence (BI) services, database management systems and more.
One of the main benefits of this approach is there are no initial costs as they have to pay for only what they use and also avoid the expense and complexity of buying and managing software licenses, it is really simple and easy to use.
Here you manage the applications and services you develop, and the cloud service provider manages everything else. It makes the development, testing, and deployment of applications quick, simple, and cost-effective.
Use Cases
PaaS is the most cost-effective and time-effective way for a developer to create an application.
It allows the developer to focus on the creative side of app development, as opposed to other tasks such as managing software updates, etc. All of their time and brainpower will go into creating, testing, and deploying the app.
Software as a service (SaaS)
SaaS is software that is centrally hosted and managed by the cloud provider for their end customers. Here, one version of the application is used by all customers and licensed through a monthly or annual subscription.
You can access the software from any device, anytime provided your internet connection is working. Different people may have different access or privileges depending on their needs or roles.
Use Cases
You should use this model when you want to run an application with minimal input. Some of the common examples include Dropbox, Slack, GoToMeeting, Google Drive and many more.
Now, let’s quickly see the comparison between all three models, as shown below.