Cloud Service Models

There are the following three types of cloud service models -

 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
 Platform as a Service (PaaS)
 Software as a Service (SaaS)

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS is also known as Hardware as a Service (HaaS). It is a computing
infrastructure managed over the internet. The main advantage of using IaaS is that it
helps users to avoid the cost and complexity of purchasing and managing the
physical servers.
Characteristics of IaaS
There are the following characteristics of IaaS -
 Resources are available as a service
 Services are highly scalable
 Dynamic and flexible
 GUI and API-based access
 Automated administrative tasks
Example: DigitalOcean, Linode, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure,
Google Compute Engine (GCE), Rackspace, and Cisco Metacloud.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS cloud computing platform is created for the programmer to develop, test, run,
and manage the applications.
Characteristics of PaaS
There are the following characteristics of PaaS -
 Accessible to various users via the same development application.
 Integrates with web services and databases.
 Builds on virtualization technology, so resources can easily be scaled up or down
as per the organization's need.
 Support multiple languages and frameworks.
 Provides an ability to "Auto-scale".
Example: AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Windows Azure, Heroku, Force.com, Google App
Engine, Apache Stratos, Magento Commerce Cloud, and OpenShift.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
SaaS is also known as "on-demand software". It is software in which the
applications are hosted by a cloud service provider. Users can access these
applications with the help of internet connection and web browser.
Characteristics of SaaS
There are the following characteristics of SaaS -
 Managed from a central location
 Hosted on a remote server
 Accessible over the internet
 Users are not responsible for hardware and software updates. Updates are
applied automatically.
 The services are purchased on the pay-as-per-use basis
Example: BigCommerce, Google Apps, Salesforce, Dropbox, ZenDesk, Cisco
WebEx, ZenDesk, Slack, and GoToMeeting.
To know more about the SaaS, click here.
Difference between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS
The below table shows the difference between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS -
IaaS Paas SaaS
It provides a virtual data It provides virtual It provides web software
center to store platforms and tools to and apps to complete
information and create create, test, and deploy business tasks.
platforms for app apps.
development, testing, and
deployment.
 It provides access to It provides runtime It provides software as a
resources such as virtual environments and service to the end-users.
machines, virtual storage, deployment tools for
etc. applications.
It is used by network It is used by developers. It is used by end users.
architects.
IaaS provides only PaaS provides SaaS provides
Infrastructure. Infrastructure+Platform. Infrastructure+Platform
+Software.
Infrastructure as a Service | IaaS
Iaas is also known as Hardware as a Service (HaaS). It is one of the layers of the
cloud computing platform. It allows customers to outsource their IT infrastructures
such as servers, networking, processing, storage, virtual machines, and other
resources. Customers access these resources on the Internet using a pay-as-per
use model.
In traditional hosting services, IT infrastructure was rented out for a specific period of
time, with pre-determined hardware configuration. The client paid for the
configuration and time, regardless of the actual use. With the help of the IaaS cloud
computing platform layer, clients can dynamically scale the configuration to meet
changing requirements and are billed only for the services actually used. IaaS cloud
computing platform layer eliminates the need for every organization to maintain the
IT infrastructure.
IaaS is offered in three models: public, private, and hybrid cloud. The private cloud
implies that the infrastructure resides at the customer-premise. In the case of public
cloud, it is located at the cloud computing platform vendor's data center, and the
hybrid cloud is a combination of the two in which the customer selects the best of
both public cloud or private cloud. IaaS provider provides the following services -
Compute: Computing as a Service includes virtual central processing units and
virtual main memory for the Vms that is provisioned to the end- users.
Storage: IaaS provider provides back-end storage for storing files.
Network: Network as a Service (NaaS) provides networking components such as
routers, switches, and bridges for the Vms.
Load balancers: It provides load balancing capability at the infrastructure layer.
Advantages of IaaS cloud computing layer
There are the following advantages of IaaS computing layer -
Shared infrastructure
IaaS allows multiple users to share the same physical infrastructure.
Web access to the resources
Iaas allows IT users to access resources over the internet.
Pay-as-per-use model
IaaS providers provide services based on the pay-as-per-use basis. The users are
required to pay for what they have used.
Focus on the core business
IaaS providers focus on the organization's core business rather than on IT
infrastructure.
On-demand scalability
On-demand scalability is one of the biggest advantages of IaaS. Using IaaS, users
do not worry about to upgrade software and troubleshoot the issues related to
hardware components.
Disadvantages of IaaS cloud computing layer
Security
Security is one of the biggest issues in IaaS. Most of the IaaS providers are not able
to provide 100% security.
Maintenance & Upgrade
Although IaaS service providers maintain the software, but they do not upgrade the
software for some organizations.
Interoperability issues
It is difficult to migrate VM from one IaaS provider to the other, so the customers
might face problem related to vendor lock-in.
Some important point about IaaS cloud computing layer
IaaS cloud computing platform cannot replace the traditional hosting method, but it
provides more than that, and each resource which are used are predictable as per
the usage. IaaS cloud computing platform may not eliminate the need for an in-
house IT department. It will be needed to monitor or control the IaaS setup. IT salary
expenditure might not reduce significantly, but other IT expenses can be reduced.
Breakdowns at the IaaS cloud computing platform vendor's can bring your business
to the halt stage. Assess the IaaS cloud computing platform vendor's stability and
finances. Make sure that SLAs (i.e., Service Level Agreement) provide backups for
data, hardware, network, and application failures. Image portability and third-party
support is a plus point. The IaaS cloud computing platform vendor can get access to
your sensitive data. So, engage with credible companies or organizations. Study
their security policies and precautions. Top Iaas Providers who are providing IaaS
cloud computing platform

IaaS Vendor Iaas Solution Details

Amazon Web Elastic, Elastic The cloud computing platform pioneer,
Services Compute Cloud (EC2) Amazon offers auto scaling, cloud
MapReduce, Route 53, monitoring, and load balancing
Virtual Private Cloud, features as part of its portfolio.
etc.
Netmagic Netmagic IaaS Cloud Netmagic runs from data centers in
 Solutions Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore, and
a virtual data center in the United
States. Plans are underway to extend
services to West Asia.
Rackspace Cloud servers, cloud The cloud computing platform vendor
files, cloud sites, etc. focuses primarily on enterprise-level
hosting services.
Reliance Reliance Internet Data RIDC supports both traditional hosting
Communications Center and cloud services, with data centers
in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad,
and Chennai. The cloud services
offered by RIDC include IaaS and
SaaS.
Sify Technologies Sify IaaS Sify's cloud computing platform is
powered by HP's converged
infrastructure. The vendor offers all
three types of cloud services: IaaS,
PaaS, and SaaS.
Tata InstaCompute InstaCompute is Tata
Communications Communications' IaaS offering.
InstaCompute data centers are located
in Hyderabad and Singapore, with
operations in both countries.
Platform as a Service | PaaS
Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides a runtime environment. It allows programmers
to easily create, test, run, and deploy web applications. You can purchase these
applications from a cloud service provider on a pay-as-per use basis and access
them using the Internet connection. In PaaS, back end scalability is managed by the
cloud service provider, so end- users do not need to worry about managing the
infrastructure. PaaS includes infrastructure (servers, storage, and networking) and
platform (middleware, development tools, database management systems, business
intelligence, and more) to support the web application life cycle.
Example: Google App Engine, Force.com, Joyent, Azure.
PaaS providers provide the Programming languages, Application frameworks,
Databases, and Other tools:

Programming languages
PaaS providers provide various programming languages for the developers to
develop the applications. Some popular programming languages provided by PaaS
providers are Java, PHP, Ruby, Perl, and Go.
Application frameworks
PaaS providers provide application frameworks to easily understand the application
development. Some popular application frameworks provided by PaaS providers are
Node.js, Drupal, Joomla, WordPress, Spring, Play, Rack, and Zend.
Databases
PaaS providers provide various databases such as ClearDB, PostgreSQL,
MongoDB, and Redis to communicate with the applications.
Other tools
PaaS providers provide various other tools that are required to develop, test, and
deploy the applications.
Advantages of PaaS
There are the following advantages of PaaS -
Simplified Development
PaaS allows developers to focus on development and innovation without worrying
about infrastructure management.
Lower risk
No need for up-front investment in hardware and software. Developers only need a
PC and an internet connection to start building applications.
Prebuilt business functionality
Some PaaS vendors also provide already defined business functionality so that
users can avoid building everything from very scratch and hence can directly start
the projects only.
Instant community
PaaS vendors frequently provide online communities where the developer can get
the ideas to share experiences and seek advice from others.
Scalability
Applications deployed can scale from one to thousands of users without any
changes to the applications.
Disadvantages of PaaS cloud computing layer
Vendor lock-in
One has to write the applications according to the platform provided by the PaaS
vendor, so the migration of an application to another PaaS vendor would be a
problem.
Data Privacy
Corporate data, whether it can be critical or not, will be private, so if it is not located
within the walls of the company, there can be a risk in terms of privacy of data.
Integration with the rest of the systems applications
It may happen that some applications are local, and some are in the cloud. So there
will be chances of increased complexity when we want to use data which in the cloud
with the local data.
Popular PaaS Providers
The below table shows some popular PaaS providers and services that are provided
by them -
Providers Services
Google App Engine App Identity, URL Fetch, Cloud storage client library,
(GAE) Logservice
Salesforce.com Faster implementation, Rapid scalability, CRM Services,
Sales cloud, Mobile connectivity, Chatter.
Windows Azure Compute, security, IoT, Data Storage.
AppFog Justcloud.com, SkyDrive, GoogleDocs
Openshift RedHat, Microsoft Azure.
Cloud Foundry from Data, Messaging, and other services.
VMware

Software as a Service | SaaS

SaaS is also known as "On-Demand Software". It is a software distribution model in
which services are hosted by a cloud service provider. These services are available
to end-users over the internet so, the end-users do not need to install any software
on their devices to access these services.
There are the following services provided by SaaS providers -
Business Services - SaaS Provider provides various business services to start-up
the business. The SaaS business services include ERP (Enterprise Resource
Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), billing, and sales.
Document Management - SaaS document management is a software application
offered by a third party (SaaS providers) to create, manage, and track electronic
documents.
Example: Slack, Samepage, Box, and Zoho Forms.
Social Networks - As we all know, social networking sites are used by the general
public, so social networking service providers use SaaS for their convenience and
handle the general public's information.
Mail Services - To handle the unpredictable number of users and load on e-mail
services, many e-mail providers offering their services using SaaS.
Advantages of SaaS cloud computing layer
SaaS is easy to buy
SaaS pricing is based on a monthly fee or annual fee subscription, so it allows
organizations to access business functionality at a low cost, which is less than
licensed applications. Unlike traditional software, which is sold as a licensed based
with an up-front cost (and often an optional ongoing support fee), SaaS providers are
generally pricing the applications using a subscription fee, most commonly a monthly
or annually fee.
One to Many
SaaS services are offered as a one-to-many model means a single instance of the
application is shared by multiple users.
Less hardware required for SaaS
The software is hosted remotely, so organizations do not need to invest in additional
hardware.
Low maintenance required for SaaS
Software as a service removes the need for installation, set-up, and daily
maintenance for the organizations. The initial set-up cost for SaaS is typically less
than the enterprise software. SaaS vendors are pricing their applications based on
some usage parameters, such as a number of users using the application. So SaaS
does easy to monitor and automatic updates.
No special software or hardware versions required
All users will have the same version of the software and typically access it through
the web browser. SaaS reduces IT support costs by outsourcing hardware and
software maintenance and support to the IaaS provider.
Multidevice support
SaaS services can be accessed from any device such as desktops, laptops, tablets,
phones, and thin clients.
API Integration
SaaS services easily integrate with other software or services through standard
APIs.
No client-side installation
SaaS services are accessed directly from the service provider using the internet
connection, so do not need to require any software installation.
Disadvantages of SaaS cloud computing layer
Security
Actually, data is stored in the cloud, so security may be an issue for some users.
However, cloud computing is not more secure than in-house deployment.
Latency issue
Since data and applications are stored in the cloud at a variable distance from the
end-user, there is a possibility that there may be greater latency when interacting
with the application compared to local deployment. Therefore, the SaaS model is not
suitable for applications whose demand response time is in milliseconds.
Total Dependency on Internet
Without an internet connection, most SaaS applications are not usable.
Switching between SaaS vendors is difficult
Switching SaaS vendors involves the difficult and slow task of transferring the very
large data files over the internet and then converting and importing them into another
SaaS also.
Popular SaaS Providers
The below table shows some popular SaaS providers and services that are provided
by them -
Provider Services
Salseforce.com On-demand CRM solutions
Microsoft Office Online office suite
365
Google Apps Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs, and sites
NetSuite ERP, accounting, order management, CRM, Professionals
Services Automation (PSA), and e-commerce applications.
GoToMeeting Online meeting and video-conferencing software
Constant E-mail marketing, online survey, and event marketing
Contact
Oracle CRM CRM applications
Workday, Inc Human capital management, payroll, and financial management.

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