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Commonly confused · Cloud Computing

IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS: What's the Difference?

These cloud service models differ in how much the provider manages. IaaS provides virtual servers, storage, and networks you manage from the OS up; PaaS adds a managed runtime so you only deploy code and data; SaaS delivers a finished application you simply use.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Full definition
vs

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Full definition
vs

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Full definition
Infrastructure as a ServicePlatform as a ServiceSoftware as a Service
Provider managesHardware, virtualization, networkEverything in IaaS plus OS, runtime, middlewareEverything, including the application
Customer managesOS, patches, runtime, apps, dataApplications and dataData, users, and configuration
ControlMostMediumLeast
Target userSysadmins and infrastructure teamsDevelopersEnd users and business teams
ExamplesAmazon EC2, Azure Virtual Machines, Compute EngineAWS Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service, Google App EngineMicrosoft 365, Salesforce, Gmail
Who patches the OSCustomerProviderProvider
Remember it

IaaS rents the kitchen, PaaS rents a ready cooking station, SaaS just serves the meal.

Exam tip

Scenario questions describe who patches the operating system or what the customer wants to manage and ask for the model. If the customer still patches the OS, it is IaaS.

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