IaaS vs PaaS – Who wins this fight?

IaaS vs PaaS – What’s the difference?

Generally speaking, here the most simple way to understand the differences between both terminologies:

IaaS = PaaS + Operating System + Middleware + Runtime

Cloud computing is a rapidly growing technology. The concept of cloud computing is appearing omnipresent in the present modern world as we are relying more on-demand upon computing to maintain and manage our digital lives across various devices whether it is a mobile phone, laptop, tablet or any other digital devices whether we are at home, office or any other corner of the world. Experts are predicting that more than 83% of the workloads of enterprises will be on the cloud by the year 2020. At the present time, it is highly important for the organizations to manage their resources as per advanced technology. Cloud computing is opening new ways of amazing opportunities that are helping us to utilize higher platform services levels such as user authentications, platforms APIs, and much more than these. This is clearly showing that we are living in an age where every day is bringing new technological changes. Most interestingly, our mobile applications are also bringing new features and technology to the users. However, along with these, some other emerging trends such as IaaS and PaaS are getting popularity and serving people to bring more ease in their lives. These services are bringing some of the most amazing features which are not only important to provide convenience for businesses or developers but can also help them to enhance the effectiveness of their services in the best possible way.

However, more often it becomes confusing to understand the PaaS and IaaS world for various people around the world. If you are the one who is linked with the industry of technology in any mean then it is highly important for you to have a look at IaaS vs PaaS to get a better idea about the things in this regard. It is because both of these amazing technologies are bringing effective changes in the world of development and are becoming two of the most essential technologies to consider.

Here is what you will learn reading this article:

• What is an IaaS – Infrastructure as a Service?
• What is a PaaS – Platform as a Service?
• Differences between IaaS and PaaS
• Detailed information about IaaS
  • IaaS – Delivery
  • IaaS – Characteristics
  • IaaS – Advantages
  • IaaS – Drawbacks
• Detailed information about PaaS
  • PaaS – Delivery
  • PaaS – Characteristics
  • PaaS – Advantages
  • PaaS – Drawbacks
• Service Providers (IaaS/PaaS)
• Conclusion

What is an IaaS – Infrastructure as a Service

IaaS stands for Infrastructure as a Service. Using an IaaS you no longer need to have a data center, buy servers, etc. A business that normally referred to the infrastructure resources of cloud-based which are being delivered to the organizations with the help of virtualization technology. IaaS is perfectly designed to help the business organizations to build and manage their network, servers, data storage options and VMs in the best possible way. IaaS is also helping the customers to manage the infrastructure of their own data without even managing the resources on-site physically. Instead, Infrastructure as a Service is one of the most amazing solutions which has the ability to help the developers and businesses to store and access data on the cloud-based servers with the help of a dashboard and application programming interface which is also known as API in the best possible way. Most importantly, Infrastructure as a Service is also helping the companies to develop and manage their data in a more effective way as they are growing bigger, by paying the space or storage on the server which is needed for them to build any software and hardware in the best possible way. With the help of IaaS, users do not have to manage and host servers remotely. Infrastructure as Service products are making up the effective foundations for building the latest technologies which are being delivered over the cloud.

Examples of IaaS are:

• AWS- Amazon Web Services
• Microsoft Azure
• Google Cloud
• Digital Ocean
• Alibaba Cloud

You outsource the following services to an IaaS

• Datacenter
• Networking
• Storage
• Servers
• Virtualization

What is a PaaS – Platform as a Service

PaaS is also called Platform as a Service which is a complete environment for the process of development and deployment in the world of cloud computing. PaaS is containing the entire effective resources which have the ability to make it quite easier for you to manage your development processes for everything ranging from simple software solutions that are based on cloud computing to the specific and highly sophisticated applications for enterprises in a more effective way. In Platform as a Service solution, service providers are offering solutions to their customers which have the ability to manage, create and run applications without the need of maintaining and developing infrastructures along with various processes of software development. Well, it is also important for you to understand the fact that this approach is quite similar to the concept of serverless computing approaches in which the service provider who is offering the cloud computing-related services usually manage and run servers along with the managing the allocation of resources in the best possible way. However, most importantly, Platform as Service options normally includes servers, networking and storage options along with the middleware services of business intelligence, real-time systems of database management, various effective development tools and much more in this regard in a more effective way.

Examples of PaaS are

• Heroku
• Elastic Beanstalk from AWS
• Engine Yard
• Open Shift from RedHat

You outsource the following services to a PaaS

• All the services of an IaaS plus:
• Operating systems
• Middleware
• Runtime

Differences between IaaS and PaaS

When it comes to PaaS vs IaaS then there are various things that most people want to know about this comparison. Well, the very first thing which you need to understand here is that IaaS is basically the name of the services which are basically linked with the cloud infrastructure. However, it is one of the best solutions which is being made of highly automated and scalable computing resources. Most interestingly, IaaS is actually a complete self-access service for monitoring and accessing computer resources, storage, networks and various other similar kinds of services. However, Infrastructure as a Service is also allowing the businesses to purchase on-demand resources when and where these are needed instead of buying the hardware outright.

While on the other hand, Platform as a service is the cloud platform services that are helping developers to access cloud components for their certain software while these are more commonly being used for applications. Even more, Platform as a Service normally delivers the developers an effective framework on which they can use to build and can use to create highly effective and customized applications in the best possible way. All the resources regarding storage, servers, and networking solutions have the ability to be managed by third-party providers or enterprises while these are able to provide the developers more amazing opportunities to maintain the management of the applications in a more effective way.

However, if you want to know more about the IaaS and PaaS such as the delivery of the services, advantages, where to use these services or the drawbacks of using these options for the processes of your project development then it is highly important for you to have a look at the following information. It is because the information which below has the ability to let you know details about various aspects of these trending technologies in the best possible way.

IaaS Delivery

Normally, IaaS services are delivering cloud computing infrastructure including operating systems, network, storage and servers via virtualization technology. Usually, these services are being delivered to the organizations with the help of an API or a dashboard through which IaaS customers will be able to get complete control over the complete infrastructure. Most interestingly, IaaS are offering the same capabilities and technologies similar to the traditional data centers without maintaining or managing any of all these resources physically. In simple words, you can say that under IaaS you will outsource all of the essential infrastructure-related resources with the help of a virtual or cloud-based data center. However, it is also important for you to know that all of the resources of Infrastructure as a Services, clients are responsible for managing the entire aspects including middleware, data, runtime, and applications. However, the storage, virtualization, hard drives, servers, and networking will be managed by the providers of the Infrastructure as a Service. Some of the service providers are also offering more amazing services which are beyond the layer of virtualization such as messages queue, and databases.

IaaS Characteristics

Do you want to know some of the most amazing characteristics of Infrastructure as a Service that has the ability to define this technology in the best possible way? Well, here are some of the key characteristics of IaaS which are highly important for you to know in this regard.

1. IaaS has the ability to offer highly scalable resources.
2. These services can bring infrastructures to the enterprise level.
3. Customers have to pay the cost of the services which they are utilizing only
4. IaaS is bringing Multitenant architecture which can make multiple people able to use a single piece of hardware in a more effective way.
5. These services can allow the clients to get control over the entire infrastructure in a more amazing way.
6. Different types of resources are available via Infrastructure as a Service.
7. IaaS services are perfectly reliable, flexible and dynamic.

IaaS Benefits

Here are some of the most amazing benefits of Infrastructure as a Service which is essential for you to know:

· Dynamic scaling

Dynamic scaling is one of the most important characteristics of IaaS. If the customers feeling the need for more resources while working as compared to what they have expected before then with the IaaS there is no need to be worried about this. It is because IaaS has the ability to let the customers get the required resources immediately. IaaS service providers usually optimize the environment in a perfect way so that operating systems, hardware, and automation can support plenty of workloads in the best possible way with ease.

· Saves time and cost

As with IaaS organizations do not have to manage a physical or in-house infrastructure resource therefore, they can easily save their money and a lot of time with ease. It is because they only have to pay for the resources which they are utilizing.

· Provides flexibility which you need

When you are at the stage of startup then you surely need to use only a smaller amount of resources while your organization will start to grow the data and resource utilization may also increase. Therefore, organizations must think about the services which can provide them the flexibility to manage their sources accordingly and the IaaS can do this for them more effectively. More amazingly, it can help in maintaining a growth mindset in the best possible way.

· Helps to grow faster

It is a vital fact that setting up an in-house cloud infrastructure will take a huge time to get done with the process. Even more, it will also require installation time. however, on the other hand, IaaS can help the organizations to set up the most effective and required infrastructure with no time. ultimately, in this way organizations will be able to get required data solutions and resources with more focus on different business areas.

When to use IaaS?

Similar to various other technologies, Infrastructure as a Service is also being used in various specific situations to get more benefits in the best possible way. Small companies and startup businesses can prefer to utilize the Infrastructure as a Service option to avoid spending money and time on creating and purchasing software and hardware. However, when it comes to larger business organizations then although they would prefer to take complete control over the entire infrastructure for sure they always want to pay for the services which they have to consume or need only. And ultimately, to fulfill both of these requirements IaaS can be the best option which they can consider with ease. Even more, the business organizations that are experiencing a higher level of growth and find a need to scale their infrastructure resources over time can also utilize these services to enjoy more amazing benefits in the best possible way. Even more, the organizations can also change the specific software or hardware easily with the changes in their needs. Consequently, every time when business organizations are not sure of the demands of their applications IaaS can be the best opportunity to avail because of the plenty of scalability and flexibility which IaaS can offer.

IaaS Disadvantages

Have a look at the disadvantages of IaaS to know more:

• As the infrastructure is running legacy applications with cloud services, but these infrastructures may not be designed for securing legacy controls.
• To manage your business tasks, you may have to manage some internal resources too.
• Mote often, training is required.
• Consumers of IaaS are responsible for business continuity, backup, and data security.

These are some of the most important disadvantages which are associated with IaaS which are highly important to consider before making any decision for your organization.

PaaS Delivery

The delivery model of the PaaS is quite amazing. It is because PaaS is not delivering software to the customers over the internet but it provides a complete platform for software development. These services can be given through the web and allowing the developers to concentrate on the process of building software with full freedom without even being worried about the storage, software updates, operating system, and infrastructure. It can allow the developers or businesses to create and design applications into the PaaS with some special software components. Sometimes, these applications are also known as middleware. Even more, these are highly scalable options and highly available too as they take on specific characteristics of cloud computing.

PaaS Characteristics

There are some of the most important PaaS characteristics which have the ability to define the system as an effective cloud service. Some of the most important characteristics include:

• Resources of PaaS are easier to scale because these services are built on virtualization
• PaaS is providing various services to assist with the creation, testing, and deployment of the applications
• PaaS is accessible for multiple users
• It also offers an integrated database and web services.

PaaS Benefits

Leveraging platforms have the ability to help the organizations or developers to eliminate the complexity of configuring, managing and purchasing software and hardware which are essential for applications with custom-built. Simply, a PaaS also able to help the teams managing development processes to save their money and time and can allow the customers or businesses on building services and applications which can add real value to the consumers. However, some of the most amazing benefits of PaaS are given below to know why it can be effective for you to utilize:

· Minimal development

PaaS services are providing rapid prototyping and can help the developers to handle various development tasks with the pre-built backend resources and infrastructure in the best possible way. With these services, they have to deal with the minimal development processes because of the availability of an amazing range of pre-built components.

· Rapid time to market

As PaaS is helping to build applications more effectively and quickly as compared to the traditional options. This can help them to experience and immediate access to the complete environment for software development and will provide the developers or organizations a rapid time to market their applications more effectively. With ease.

· Reduced pressure on resources

PaaS can provide new capabilities for the development teams and eliminate the need for hiring a skilled team for some particular activities. A platform can help organizations to reduce overheads in the best possible way.

· Ready to use sophisticated tools

PaaS is helping developers to build applications with the help of various pre-built or ready to use components and can reduce the time of coding in a more effective way. Developers will be able to take benefit of sophisticated software development along with effective tools that otherwise could be quite expensive to avail.

· Scalability

The PaaS is not only useable to offer ease in the processes of application development and deployment however, but it can also improve the scalability in the best possible way. this can help the businesses to modify and or scale their processes more efficiently and easily.

When to use PaaS?

When it comes to utilizing Platform as a Service then it is highly important for you to understand the fact that all of these services could not be used in every situation. Similar to other various technologies, Platform as a Service can also be utilized in certain conditions only. Well, most interestingly, the use of Platform as a Service highly beneficial even in various situations it can be a necessity of the organization to utilize the PaaS options.

As PaaS has the ability to streamline the workflows in a more effective way especially at the time when multiple developers are handling the same project. If the organization has to include some more developers or vendors in the process then Platform as a Service has the ability to provide higher flexibility and great speed to the entire process.

Even more, it could be particularly beneficial to use PaaS services if the developers are going to create a customized application This cloud-based service can reduce costs greatly. It also has the ability to simplify some challenges which can come up while developing or deploying an application rapidly.

PaaS Disadvantages

Here are some of the disadvantages of PaaS which are important for you to know:

• The data which is residing in the cloud servers is controlled by the third party.
• It can be complex to connect the services with the data stored within onsite data centers.
• If the vendor is not offering migration policies then it may become difficult to manage system migration in the future.
• Although PaaS services normally offering an amazing range of customization and integration features but still, legacy systems customization can become a big concern with Platform as a Service.
• Well, it is highly important for you to understand the fact that in PaaS limitations can be associated with some specific services and applications. It is because PaaS may not support the languages which you want to work with.

IaaS Providers

AWS

AWS also stands for Amazon Web Services which is founded in 2006. It is offering cloud computing to individuals, governments, and organizations on demand. AWS is offering much more than just integrated web services. However, it is known as one of the most effective IaaS solutions as it is providing hardware infrastructure which can allow business organizations to build their website solutions in the cloud servers. AWS will manage the entire system administration and hardware. You can decrease or increase the requirements of your infrastructure as per the needs of solutions that you want to utilize in the best possible way.

Features:

• AWS mobile-friendly access is offering both AWS mobile SDKs and AWS mobile hub.
• AWS can also allow its users to run their codes while scaling
• AWS is providing managed database solutions.
• Amazing storage options to opt.
• AWS ensure maximum security to the data of the users and organizations

Pros

• Highly customizable solutions
• Easy to scale
• Easy to use
• Mobile-friendly solutions.
• Enhanced security
• Highly cost-effective and flexible solutions.

Microsoft Azure

Azure is providing highly effective solutions that can help you to manage instant computing infrastructure. Azure is creating more value to its users by providing them scalable, highly secured, and always available infrastructure at the cloud. Most interestingly, you can scale up and down the services on a quick basis. Most interestingly, users have to pay only for the services which they are utilizing. Azure is providing the best opportunity for its users to provide the managed services as per their needs in a more effective way. It is one of the most effective growing networks which is offering an amazing range of integrated services in the best possible way.

Features:

• Azure is providing massively scalable, highly durable and always available storage options
• It is also offering an amazing range of VM images and sizes to choose the best options for deployment.
• Azure is also offering various best network technologies to develop more sophisticated network solutions.

Pros

• Scalable and customizable services
• Next-level security
• It can help the developers to push new features more quickly.

Digital Ocean

Digital Ocean is one of the most amazing cloud computing service providers which is offering developers to enjoy easy to use and more reliable object storage and virtual servers. Digital Ocean was established in 2011 when the services related to cloud infrastructure as a Service were emerging. However, the Digital Ocean has brought some of the most effective and easy to use solutions that have made the lives of developers easier in the best possible way. Whatever is the size of your business, Digital Ocean is capable of providing you some of the most amazing infrastructure related services to provide you more convivence.

 Features

• Scalable storage is one of the most effective features of the Digital Ocean which can let you expand your project without any limitations.
• Ease of use and affordability are the other key features of this service.
• Top-notch security features of the Digital Ocean are truly amazing.

Pros

• Also effective for the small developers to create high-performance instances
• The smarter choice for every developer.
• Highly cost-effective solutions to reach.

PaaS Providers

Heroku

Heroku is one of the best PaaS service providers who actually understand how to give more value and ease to the users. Heroku is a platform that is designed to allow the developers on the tasks which truly matters. However, this amazing PaaS platform is based on the system of managed containers along with powerful runtime and multiple integrated data services. Heroku can let the developers experience an approach that is app-centric for the delivery of software. It is offering an abstract computing environment and can help the developers to work in a more effective way when developing applications. It can provide ease in the processes in the best possible way.

Features

• Heroku normally runs the applications inside dynos which are smart containers and provide a completely managed runtime environments.
• It offers an app-centric approach for the delivery of software.
• It can also allow the developers to extend their applications with add-ons.

Pros

• Dedicated instances
• Effective control over instances of the virtual machine
• 3rd-party services integration
• Provides core building blocks for secure and flexible applications

AWS Elastic Beanstalk

AWS Elastic Beanstalk is one of the easy to use cloud provisioning and deployment platforms that have been created by Amazon. It is perfectly designed to setup applications quite easier and faster in the best possible way. It is a perfect Platform as a Service that is able to support multiple programming languages, including .NET, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP and much more. However, to get benefits from the AWS Elastic Beanstalk users can easily deploy the applications. Users only have to upload their code the rest of the tasks will be handled by the platform automatically. Although this platform is handling entire processes still user has complete access to the systems or AWS resources which are powering their applications.

Features:

• AWS Service Integration
• Environment Monitoring
• Environment Management
• Environment Configuration
• Application Configuration and management

Pros

• It is offering a faster and easier way of uploading applications. This is one of the most highlighted benefits of AWS Elastic Beanstalk.
• Auto-scaling settings
• Proper control over resources
• Simplified price ranges.

Red Hat Open Shift

Red Hat Open Shift is an amazing Platform as a Service solution that is effectively designed for the developers. Most interestingly, it is an open-source PaaS that has the ability to automate the key systems of essential administrative tasks. Even more, it is a platform that is offering a lot of control to the developers over the system. However, this is the solution that is best for developers not for businesses that are demanding the platforms with more guidance options. Some of the services of the Red Hat Open Shift are also available for free. However, if you have to your hands on the entire services range then you need to get a subscription package.

Features:

• Red Hat Open Shift is an open-source platform that is not only supporting a wider range of languages but also offering amazing server-side technologies.
• It can allow the developers to manage and create applications from the command line, or web console via an integrated development environment.
• It delivers built-in security features for containers.

Pros

• It can help to build better and stronger applications
• Amazing integration options.
• Extensibility and scalability

Conclusion

IaaS and PaaS are two of the most amazing emerging technologies which are ruling the world of cloud computing at the present time. Both of these have their own benefits and disadvantages. However, knowing more detail given above can help you to identify the fact that which of these services is going to be beneficial for you to use.

Want to learn more? Please read the cool articles below:

What is a BaaS – Backend as a Service? 

BaaS vs PaaS – Which is a better option?

BaaS vs FaaS – What’s the difference?