🤔 SaaS, PaaS, IaaS — What are heck?

Let’s take a look at three business models you can consider for your next product. They are: SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. With reals examples for each model.

If you still have any questions, I will try to explain 😉

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Think about it as a way of delivering applications over the Internet as a service.

Thus, you avoid the complexity of managing hardware and software on your side by simply accessing them via the Internet. In other words, you don’t need to install and maintain it. You can just log in and experience all the possibilities that this software is giving you.

It’s like a cloud service. All your data is stored on their servers, not your computer. Vendors manage all potential technical issues, such as data, middleware, servers, and storage, resulting in streamlined maintenance and support for the business.

👉 Some examples of SaaS services:

Google Workspace, Trello, Zoom, Dropbox, MailChimp, Slack, Salesforce

👉 Some benefits of the SaaS business model:

• SaaS eliminates the need to have IT staff
• Often, you can use the same software from everywhere and from different devices
• Automatization will help you make the whole business process much easier
• You’re not responsible for hardware or software updates

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Think about it as a thing that provides cloud components to certain software while being used mainly for applications. It’s like a platform for software creation.

All servers, storage, and networking can be managed by the service provider while the developers can maintain the management of the applications.

It’s delivered via the internet, giving developers the freedom to concentrate on building the software without having to worry about operating systems, software updates, storage, or infrastructure.

👉 Some examples of PaaS services:

Heroku, AWS Lambda, Google App Engine

👉 Some benefits of the PaaS business model:

• Speed up the creation of apps
• Access to a data centre, hardware, and operating systems
• No need to purchase hardware or pay expenses during downtime
• Scalable
• Developers can customize apps without the headache of maintaining the software

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Think about it as the ability to manage every part of your business, such as servers, networks, operating systems, and storage. This model is typically used by large corporations where efficiency and stability are critical.

It’s similar to PaaS. However, IaaS gives you more abilities to manage resources. See the explanation below.

👉 Some examples of IaaS services:

DigitalOcean, Linode, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine (GCE)

👉 Some benefits of the IaaS business model:

• Hardware purchases can be based on consumption
• Complete control of your infrastructure
• Resources can be purchased as-needed
• Highly scalable

🤔 PaaS and IaaS. What’s the difference?

PaaS

You manage Applications and data.

Service provider manages Runtime, Middleware, O/S, Virtualization, Servers, Storage, and Networking.

IaaS

You manage Applications, data, runtime, middleware, and O/S.

Service provider manages Virtualization, Servers, Storage, and Networking.