Platform as a Service (PaaS) refers to cloud computing services that supply an on-demand environment for developing, testing, delivering, and managing software applications. PaaS is designed to make it easier for developers to quickly create applications (e.g., web, mobile apps), without worrying about setting up or managing the underlying infrastructure of servers, storage, network, and databases needed for development.
Platform as a service (PaaS) is a complete development and deployment environment in the cloud, with resources that enable you to deliver everything from simple cloud-based apps to sophisticated, cloud-enabled enterprise applications. You purchase the resources you need from a Cloud Service Provider (CSP) on a pay-as-you-go (i.e., utilization) basis and access them over a secure Internet connection.
Like IaaS, PaaS includes infrastructure – servers, storage, and networking – but also middleware, development tools, Business Intelligence (BI) services, database management systems, and more. PaaS is designed to support the complete application lifecycle: building, testing, deploying, managing, and updating.
PaaS allows you to avoid the capital expenses (CapEx) and complexity of buying and managing software licenses, the underlying application infrastructure and middleware or the development tools and other resources. You manage the applications and services you develop, and the cloud service provider typically manages everything else.
