I’m sure that you would be familiar with the term “Cloud computing”. The IT Professionals (Information Technology professionals) would know its meaning as they are working with it but for few people who are not from Information, Technology background may wonder about what cloud computing is. So, let’s jump into the topic to get to know more about the term PAAS.
PAAS
Well, the full form of PAAS is Platform As A Service. It’s cloud computing through which a service provider delivers a platform enabling the client to develop, run, and manage their business applications without the need to build a software infrastructure. Cloud computing provides you the facility of storing and accessing data just over the internet. Cloud provides you more data storage than your ordinary hard disk. A familiar example of cloud computing service is none other than the google drive which you use on a daily basis.
Isn’t it interesting? Let’s see more interesting facts on cloud computing.
Most banks use cloud computing, which means they work mostly with the cloud instead of storing all the banking details on a hard disk.
As digitalization grows, cloud computing will play a major role in how technology runs.
Elaborative view on PAAS
Platform as a service is similar to the concept of Function As A Service (FAAS) and serverless computing. SAAS is serverless commuting which allows companies to run, discrete, develop, and event-driven functions with zero complexity of maintaining and building the infrastructure needed for the development of the application. The main idea was to avoid building large complicated servers and to store different types of data in just a single cloud.
Platform As A Service and Service less computing services take charge of storage network resources to consume and to compute.
What are the components of PAAS?
A cloud service provider like Essence (that’s us) can offer Platform As A Service. Hybrid, private and public clouds are the three types through which a service provider offers PAAS. The cloud provider delivers all the Major IT (Information Technology) Components required to host applications including server, network, storage, operating system, and database. In simple words, cloud computing plays a major role in the IT industry by providing basic tools for software development. PAAS is delivered as software within a customer’s firewall. It provides key services like java development and application hosting. PAAS also includes development team collaboration, web service integration, database integration, and information security. To access the PAAS you must subscribe to it as it is the paid service. It’s similar to someone staying in a rented house.
TOOLS INCLUDED IN PAAS
PAAS Vendors includes tools and systems-
Development Tool
Infrastructure
Middleware
Database management
Operating System
Let’s see the detailed explanation of each tool
DEVELOPMENT TOOLS
PAAS offers different varieties of tools helpful in software development. The list of tools available in PAAS for software development includes a compiler, source editor, a debugger, and other essential tools. This will be beneficial if you are an App developer. However, the number of tools that you get is completely dependent on the service provider.
MIDDLEWARE
Middleware is software that stays between the user application (User-facing application) and the operating system of the machine. To make it easier, let’s consider that you’re typing in your computer in MS Word, and then your click on the Save option to save the typed content. Here you are using two inputs one is the keyboard and the other is the mouse. As you type and click the options using the mouse, the inputs which you give are converts into the machine language i.e. 0s and 1s. So, middleware does the role between your input and the machine language conversion.
Middleware is mainly required to run any application but the end-user does not react with it. PAAS provides this tool which makes the (App developer and Web developer) developer’s job easier.
OPERATING SYSTEM
PaaS gives the benefit of providing and maintaining the operating system for the developers.
DATABASES
PAAS provides the facilities of database management and administration of the database. The database management system is provided for the benefit of the developer.
INFRASTRUCTURE
PAAS is said to be similar to IAAS. In that case, the PAAS service provider mostly manages the storage, physical data, and also server but in rare cases, PAAS might purchase these facilities from IAAS. You may think on ‘if PAAS purchases services from IAAS then why is PAAS used more widely than IAAS?’
To answer the question you must know the benefits of PAAS.
Benefits of PAAS
Increasing the time speed to the market
PaaS acts as a buddy to the developer. Using this service the developers are benefited from several tools that mainly contribute to the faster and easier development of the application. The developers have less to worry about their work if they use PAAS, as it helps in configuring, provisioning, the building of the platform, and even the infrastructure. It mainly provides tools for testing and developing. Thus making the developer’s job easier.
Provides constant environment
Platform as a service provides a constant environment i.e. the same environment throughout the process of building, testing, debugging, deploying, and managing an application. As the constant environment seems to be necessary for a developer to develop the application with no error.
Cost-effective
PaaS is cost-effective for builders. It is a scheme of getting paid for the only used resources by the customer. In this way, the customers are not pushed to pay for unused resources.
Get a license with no tension
You may have no need be in any kind of tension on getting a license of development tools, operating systems, and also for any required platform as the PAAS handles all of it making your job easier. By now you would have understood why PAAS is mostly preferred by the developers than the IAAS and SAAS. The terms PAAS, IAAS, and SAAS might sound a bit similar but it contains a few differences that you must know about it. So let’s see the difference.
Differences in PAAS and IAAS and SAAS
PAAS, IAAS, And SAAS are the main categories of computing.
IAAS
IAAS (Infrastructure A A Service) is a cloud-based infrastructure that delivers virtualization to the organization. The customer using this service can control their infrastructure without any physical management on-site. They can access and store data through an application programming interface. IAAS is used in companies to build and manage the data storage and server-based to require to build hardware and software without the host.
IAAS EXAMPLES
MICROSOFT AZURE
It is cloud computing which plays a major role in building and managing the application.
AMAZON WEB SERVICES (AWS)
Amazon is the owner of AWS and it is one of the most popular could hosting services at present. It helps to store data and deliver content.
PAAS
Platform As A Service. It’s a cloud computing that offers a service provider that delivers a platform enabling the client to develop, run, and manage their business applications without the need to build a software infrastructure.
PAAS EXAMPLES
GOOGLE APP ENGINE
It allows developers to build and host web applications.
OPEN SHIFT
It is on-premises containerization
SAAS
It’s the most common cloud computing service that companies use to grow their business. It is easy to use and manage. It’s highly scalable. There is no need to download and install on individual devices
EXAMPLES OF SAAS
DROPBOX
It is a file-sharing tool that allows multiple users within an organization to upload a download different files
JIRA
It is a project management software, that organizations purchase on a subscription basis.
DIFFERENCES:
IAAS vs PAAS:
IAAS offers direct control over the operating system that PAAS offers flexibility in operations. However, PAAS is affordable than IAAS.
SAAS vs PAAS:
SAAS products are managed by other companies having the application to the data to the servers. However, PAAS products have facilities that allow a user to use them as a foundation for building new products. Being the top of the platform network. By now I am very sure that you would have completely understood the differences between IAAS, PAAS, and SAAS. With this, you now have more clarity over PAAS and its benefits.
In conclusion, PAAS is a cloud computing software that can be used by the end-user to achieve mass storage, devices, and also tools for the developers. But, not alone for the developers, it is usable by everyone who has the basic need to store mass files. Thus storing the files in hardware devices might be insufficient for space but storing in a cloud computer may provide enough space to store any type of large files like document, image, audios, and even video files. Finally, If you want to go with PAAS and need help with cloud computing you can connect with us and we’ll help you out.