Today, online services and websites use a lot of awesome technologies. Even if the end user is unaware, most of the services are offered in the cloud and technologies with abbreviations such as IaaS, SaaS and PaaS are used for this. So what do they mean and how do they work? Below, we explain the most common modern cloud technologies in a way anyone can understand.

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

Businesses have two options for accessing their networks, storage, and other online services: they do it all with their own physical servers, or they use cloud technology for all of those infrastructure services. IaaS enables businesses to access IT services in the cloud without simply purchasing separate hardware. In this context, all servers, network infrastructures, operating systems and storage solutions are hosted in virtual data centers. There is no need to physically maintain or manage this infrastructure, and everything can be accessed online through a dashboard (or API). Depending on the needs of the business, the IaaS capacity can be increased or decreased.

IaaS offers access to scalable services and provides a dynamic and flexible infrastructure without high costs. Digital Ocean, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Rackspace are among the most well-known IaaS services. Because it lowers costs, IaaS is particularly preferred by small and medium-sized businesses. However, there are some security risks caused by virtual machines, and this may not be possible for companies like https://vulkanvegas.com/ca to move all the programs they use to the cloud. This requires the use of new programs and training in their use, which can result in wasted time and increased costs.

SaaS (software as a service)

It simply means using the Internet to deliver a company’s applications to employees. For example, a business can use SaaS to deliver the same applications to all vendors and have them all work in sync without worrying about server, storage, middleware, etc. These apps are web-based and can run on any device without the need for a download. It is very advantageous from an IT point of view as it completely automates the tasks of installing, managing and updating applications.

Since all data entered by a user will be synchronized automatically, each employee has access to up-to-date data. This is especially useful for inventory tracking and offers a huge advantage for e-commerce. Although SaaS has many advantages, it is not compatible with almost all programs used by companies because it uses its own private infrastructure. It should be installed from scratch and users should be trained. Plus, it’s almost impossible to customize. The most famous SaaS examples are Salesforce, SAP and Cisco WebEx. It is also possible that Google GSuite applications could be considered as an example of SaaS.

PaaS (Platform as a service)

PaaS and SaaS are similar in many ways, but PaaS works as a platform rather than out-of-the-box applications. You can think of PaaS as an empty framework: companies can fill it with applications tailored to their specific needs. After that, the experience is the same as with SaaS because the developed apps can be accessed from any device, synchronization happens automatically, and there is no need to worry about issues like updating / storage.

The difference with PaaS is that it gives you the flexibility to choose what these apps will be and what features they will contain. If you are starting to use a SaaS service, you cannot edit its content – you must use existing applications. However, with PaaS, you can create a SaaS service with applications that are specific to you. In this context, you can see PaaS as a platform where personal SaaS applications can be developed. AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Heroku, Force.com, and OpenShift are the most famous PaaS services.

PaaS, unfortunately, still has integration issues. It is often impossible to develop PaaS versions of applications already in use by companies. The end product is more personalized than SaaS but may still need to be developed from scratch. Additionally, migrating to a PaaS service may require businesses to take a long hiatus.

FaaS (Function as a service)

Program developers should also manage and configure the servers on which these programs will run because that is the platform their code will run on. FaaS removes this requirement and allows the development of “serverless” applications. Written code can operate independently of the infrastructure (i.e. the server). There are also servers in the FaaS model, but developers don’t have to take them into account when working. It is only necessary to write certain functions and select triggers (for example, HTTP requests) that determine when they will execute. You don’t have to think about “TechStack” which means the server features such as CPU, RAM, disk, and operating system.

FaaS is a particularly suitable technology for IoT because it runs entirely from the cloud, allowing applications developed without a server to run on virtually anything, without the operating system and hardware constraints. Amazon AWS Lambda, IBM Cloud Functions, Google Cloud Functions, and Azure Functions are the most well-known FaaS services. The biggest downside to this technology is that it’s virtually impossible to switch between service platforms. For example, you cannot migrate an application that you started developing on Amazon AWS Lambda to IBM Cloud Functions. Thus, you become dependent on the service you initially chose.