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Platform as a service (PaaS) or application platform as a service (aPaaS) or platform-based service is a cloud computing service model where users provision, instantiate, run and manage a modular bundle of a
computing platform A computing platform, digital platform, or software platform is the infrastructure on which software is executed. While the individual components of a computing platform may be obfuscated under layers of abstraction, the ''summation of the requi ...
and applications, without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure associated with developing and launching application(s), and to allow developers to create, develop, and package such
software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
bundles.


Development and uses

PaaS can be delivered in three ways: * As a public cloud service from a provider, where the consumer controls software deployment with minimal configuration options, and the provider provides the networks, servers, storage,
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...
(OS),
middleware Middleware is a type of computer software program that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system. It can be described as "software glue". Middleware makes it easier for software developers to imple ...
(e.g. Java runtime,
.NET The .NET platform (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a free and open-source, managed code, managed computer software framework for Microsoft Windows, Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems. The project is mainly developed by Microsoft emplo ...
runtime, integration, etc.),
database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...
and other services to host the consumer's application. * As a private service (software or appliance) behind a firewall. * As software deployed on public infrastructure as a service.Judith Hurwitz, Marcia Kaufman, Fern Halper and Dan Kirsh
"What Is Platform as a Service (PaaS) in Cloud Computing?"
''Hybrid Cloud For Dummies'', Hoboken, NJ:
John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Publishing, publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and pr ...
, 2012.
The first public platform as a service was Zimki, launched by Fotango, a London-based company owned by Canon Europe. It was developed in 2005, had a beta launch in March 2006 and a public launch at EuroOSCON in 2006. At the time of its closure, Zimki had several thousand developer accounts. It had demonstrated the technical viability of Platform as a Service, but also provided the first example of the perils of being dependent on a single provider. This was highlighted when the CEO ( Simon Wardley, known for Wardley maps) announced at OSCON 2007 that Zimki would no longer be open-sourced and discussed the future of what was then called framework-as-a-service (later called platform-as-a-service) covering the importance of a market of providers based on an open-source reference model. The original intent of PaaS was to simplify the writing of code, with the infrastructure and operations handled by the PaaS provider. Originally, all PaaSes were in the public cloud. Because many companies did not want to have everything in the public cloud, private and hybrid PaaS options (managed by internal IT departments) were created.Mike Kavis
"Top 8 Reasons Why Enterprises Are Passing On PaaS,"
''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'', September 15, 2014.
PaaS provides an environment for developers and companies to create, host and deploy applications, saving developers from the complexities of infrastructure (setting up, configuring and managing elements such as servers and databases). PaaS can improve the speed of developing an app, and allow its user to focus on the application itself. With PaaS, the customer manages applications and data, while the provider (in public PaaS) or IT department (in private PaaS) manages runtime,
middleware Middleware is a type of computer software program that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system. It can be described as "software glue". Middleware makes it easier for software developers to imple ...
,
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...
,
virtualization In computing, virtualization (abbreviated v12n) is a series of technologies that allows dividing of physical computing resources into a series of virtual machines, operating systems, processes or containers. Virtualization began in the 1960s wit ...
, servers, storage and networking. Development tools provided by the vendor are customized according to the needs of the user. The user can choose to maintain the software, or have the vendor maintain it. PaaS offerings may also include facilities for application design, application development, testing and deployment, as well as services such as team collaboration, web service integration, and marshalling, database integration, security, scalability, storage, persistence, state management, application versioning, application instrumentation, and developer community facilitation. Besides the service engineering aspects, PaaS offerings include mechanisms for service management, such as monitoring, workflow management, discovery and reservation.


Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of PaaS are primarily that it allows for higher-level programming with dramatically reduced complexity; the overall development of the application can be more effective, as it has built-in/self up-and-down ramping infrastructure resources; and maintenance and enhancement of the application is thus easier. Disadvantages of various PaaS providers as cited by their users include increased pricing at larger scales, lack of operational features, reduced control, and the difficulties of traffic routing systems.


Types


Public, private and hybrid

There are several types of PaaS, including public, private and hybrid. PaaS was originally intended for applications on public cloud services, before expanding to include private and hybrid options. Public PaaS is derived from
software as a service Software as a service (SaaS ) is a cloud computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is usually accessed via a web application. Unlike o ...
(SaaS),Jack Schofield
"Google angles for business users with ‘platform as a service’,"
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', April 16, 2008.
and is situated in cloud computing between SaaS and
infrastructure as a service Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a cloud computing service model where a cloud services vendor provides computing resources such as storage, network, servers, and virtualization (which emulates computer hardware). This service frees users fr ...
(IaaS). SaaS is software hosted in the cloud so that it does not reside or run on customer computers. IaaS provides virtual hardware from a provider with adjustable scalability. In IaaS, the server is managed by the user, whereas in PaaS by the provider. A private PaaS can typically be downloaded and installed either in a company's on-premises
data center A data center is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. Since IT operations are crucial for busines ...
, or in a public cloud. Once the software is installed on one or more machines, the private PaaS arranges the application and database components into a single hosting platform. Hybrid PaaS is typically a deployment consisting of a mix of public and private deployments.


Communications platform as a service

A communications platform as a service (CPaaS) is a cloud-based platform that enables developers to add real-time communications features (voice, video, and messaging) in their own applications without building back-end infrastructure and interfaces. Also, CPaaS and hardware and software specifications are specifically designed to support (tele)communications applications. These applications and their usage are much more sensitive to jitter, latency and packet losses. Hosted PBX, cellular networks, (near real-time) applications typically are deployed on CPaaS platforms.


Mobile platform as a service

Initiated in 2012, mobile PaaS (mPaaS) provides development capabilities for mobile app designers and developers. The Yankee Group identified mPaaS as one of its themes for 2014.


Open PaaS

Open PaaS does not include hosting but provides open-source software allowing a PaaS provider to run applications in an open-source environment, such as Google App Engine. Some open platforms let the developer use any programming language, database, operating system or server to deploy their applications.


Providers

There are various types of PaaS providers. All offer application hosting and a deployment environment, along with various integrated services. Services offer varying levels of scalability and maintenance.Dion Hinchcliffe
"Comparing Amazon’s and Google’s Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) Offerings,"
ZDNet, April 11, 2008.
Developers can write an application and upload it to a PaaS that supports their software language of choice, and the application runs on that PaaS.


Government usage

The
UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
encourages departments to make use of public cloud solutions as a first option. PaaS is in use within UK Government but the technology community within government notes that PaaS providers may restrict the software, languages and interfaces they are willing to support. The Government operated its own GOV.UK PaaS service from 2015 until 2023, but this has now been decommissioned.Government Digital Service
Migrating from GOV.UK PaaS
accessed on 12 October 2024


See also

* as a service


References

{{Cloud computing As a service Cloud platforms es:Computación en la nube#Plataforma como servicio