Platform as a service, or PaaS, is a cloud computing model that provides users with a complete development to deployment environment in the cloud. The main goal of PaaS is to provide a holistic view of cloud platforms and centralize the development and maintenance of cloud applications.
PaaS tools include, but are not limited to, development kits, database tools, and application management capabilities. A PaaS offering includes infrastructure, such as servers and storage, and middleware, such as development tools and database management systems. Third-party vendors provide users with virtual resources to build, deploy, and launch software applications, reducing the need for back-end software development.
Businesses utilize PaaS to outsource hosting, database construction, cloud security capabilities, and data storage. Companies often use PaaS clouds as scalable platforms for new applications or expanding applications to larger audiences. PaaS offers a pay-as-you-grow model, which helps businesses avoid long-term investments in development time and middleware. Development teams use the service as an alternative to constructing and hosting at the back end of applications with integrated development environments (IDE). PaaS’ hosted database and storage services include similar capabilities to mobile backend-as-a-service (mBaaS) products, which are specifically for mobile applications. PaaS providers range from established software vendors to open source projects. In recent years, hybrid cloud has emerged as a popular form of PaaS deployment. Hybrid cloud computing takes different cloud infrastructures, such as public and private clouds, and manages them as one.
To qualify for inclusion in the PaaS category, a product must:
Provide hosted database creation tools
Provide a development platform
Provide application management tools
Possess capabilities to deploy applications
