Cloud service models

  • 2 minutes

Cloud computing resources are delivered using three different service models:

  • Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) provides instant computing infrastructure that you can provision and manage over the Internet.
  • Platform as a service (PaaS) provides ready-made development and deployment environments that you can use to deliver your own cloud services.
  • Software as a service (SaaS) delivers applications over the internet as web-based services.

IaaS versus SaaS versus PaaS

When choosing a service model, consider which party should be responsible for the computing resource. Based on your scenario, you can decide how much shared management responsibility you want. The following illustration shows a list of resources that you manage and that your service provider manages in each cloud service category.

Illustration showing the level of shared management responsibility in each category of cloud service.