This is Part 12 of Cloud Computing Tutorial. In our previous video,
we understood what is infrastructure as a service. In this video we'll understand what is platform
as a service also called PaaS. Who uses this service and the benefits it provide.
Now, if you watched our previous video, what is infrastructure as a service, then, understanding
what is platform as a service is very easy. It boils down to what we, that is our organization
manages versus what the cloud service provider manages. With the infrastructure as a service,
the cloud service provider manages the infrastructure,
that is networking, servers, storage and virtualization. We manage everything else,
that is the operating system, middleware, runtime, data and applications. When compared
with infrastructure as a service, platform as a service provides an even higher level
of abstraction. You can think of it as a layer on top of infrastructure as a service. It shifts
more responsibility to the cloud service provider. As you can see from the diagram,
you manage just your business applications or services and the underlying data. The rest is
managed by a cloud service provider. So you don't have to worry about any of the things
like managing the network or underlying infrastructure, installing the operating system,
updates, critical patches, runtime or middleware components. All these are taken care by the cloud
service provider. So this gives you even more time to concentrate on what matters to your business.
Who uses platform as a service? Well, it is primarily used by software development teams.
As the name implies, it provides the platform for developing software applications. It's a complete
development and deployment environment in the cloud. It enables you to deliver everything,
from simple cloud-based apps to sophisticated enterprise class cloud-enabled apps. For example,
let's say you want to develop a data-driven web application. For this, we need a framework
like asp.net core or java. To store data we need a database like SQL Server or Oracle
for example. We also need a web server to host and run our web application. Purchasing all these
softwares, installing, setting up the development environment and maintaining it, is not only
expensive but also time consuming. With platform as a service, the cloud service provider provides
all these softwares, installs and configures them. You have the development platform available
with a few clicks, in just a few minutes. You pay for the service on a pay-as-you-go basis and
access it over a secure internet connection. When you no longer need the service you shut things
down and stop paying. Windows Azure, AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Google App Engine are a few examples
of platform as a service. Now, what are the advantages? Well, platform as a service is a layer
on top of infrastructure as a service. So, it has all the benefits of infrastructure as a service
plus the benefits specific to platform as a service. Infrastructure as a service provides many
benefits like reduced financial risk, deployment speed, provision resources from geographically
closer locations, auto scaling resources that is the underlying virtual infrastructure
up and down depending on demand. We discussed Infrastructure as a service benefits in detail
in our previous video. So, now let's look at the benefits, specific to platform as a service. It
greatly reduces development time. Just imagine the amount of time it takes to procure your own
infrastructure, purchase all the softwares, install, configure and set up your own development
environment. With platform as a service in just a few minutes with a few simple clicks you gain
instant access to a complete software development environment. It also provides templates and
reusable application components and features such as search, directory services, security features
and so on. Platform as a service supports global teams. To access the development environment,
all you need is an internet connection. So your development team members can be located anywhere
in the world, I mean, in any remote location. It doesn't really matter. As long as they have
an internet connection, they can connect and work together on projects. Platform
as a service provides options for developing for multiple platforms such as computers,
mobile devices and browsers. In short, it makes developing cross-platform apps quicker and easier.
Affordability is another great benefit. Cloud supports pay-as-you-go model. So
with that organizations of all sizes including small organizations and
even individuals are able to use sophisticated development software business intelligence and
analytical tools that they could not afford to purchase outright. So with a pay-as-you-go model,
you simply pay a monthly fee for as long as you want to use them. In our next video we'll discuss
software as a service. That's it in this video. Thank you for listening.