Cloud service models
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 a web-based service.
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.
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