Cloud Computing Definitions – SaaS – PaaS – IaaS

By Michael Hanson

Marketing isn’t just about branding, creative, etc. – marketing accounts for the rise in global technology usage and stands poised to embrace the “Cloud”. The Cloud is a virtual environment that precludes the purchase of servers and other technology components to deploy websites, social media sites, etc. Amazon, Rackspace, Microsoft and Google have offerings in this space and there are three acronyms that marketers need to understand when deploying future marketing strategies – no matter which vendor you utilize. The three most typical deployment models are:

SaaS – Software As A Service. Pronounced “SASS”. Simplest deployment method which allows software to be tapped from a cloud computing resource rather than relying on software installations and implementations.

PaaS – Platform As A Service. Pronounced “PASS”. Intermediate deployment that steps away from simply renting applications from the cloud by leveraging the cloud as an operating system (platform). This also eliminates expensive network upkeep as most service providers provide routine maintenance and upgrades as a part of their SLA (service level offering).

IaaS – Infrastructure As A Service. Pronounced “I-AS”. The holy grail of cloud computing! You access / rent everything from the cloud … this means servers, storage space, routers, and other hardware, networking capabilities, operating systems, and applications. This allows for the ultimate degree of scaling as your projects (and customers) dictate.