SaaS vs PaaS vs IaaS – how to choose the right Cloud Service Model for you?

Today, multiple companies all around the world use cloud-based solutions to improve their efficiency and reduce costs, but if you have not moved your business to the cloud, terms like IaaS, PaaS and SaaS in cloud computing may be new for you. Don’t worry! In this article, you will find all the information you need to start using cloud computing services.

Cloud technologies make it possible for large enterprises as well as small and medium companies to reduce the costs of day-to-day operation and improve overall efficiency. Cloud solutions provide scalability, better collaboration abilities and flexibility to organisations no matter what industry they work in. There are three most common types of cloud services: IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. Keep reading to learn more about them. 

Cloud computing benefits – why should you move your business to the cloud?

Let’s start from the basics – cloud computing entails on-demand computing services, such as servers, storage, software and analytics delivered via the Internet wherein you typically pay for the resources you actually use. This solution enables you to store and access your business data and applications in remote data centres, so you don’t have to invest in your own on-premises infrastructure.

Cloud computing is more or less like renting infrastructure or applications that your business requires for smooth operating. The big advantage is that you pay for only those resources that you need. It is simply on-demand delivery of IT resources via the Internet, thanks to which you can avoid the high costs of maintaining your own IT infrastructure. Having your own IT infrastructure means that you need to not only pay for equipment, but also for the experts that will maintain it. Choosing the cloud can help you reduce your regular business expenses significantly. 

Are you considering moving your company’s data and applications to the cloud? Here are the most obvious benefits of leveraging cloud computing services:

• Scalable and flexible services – if you choose cloud services over the traditional on-premises approach, you will gain the ability to quickly scale up or scale down your cloud solution, so you’ll be able to get more IT resources when your business grows or reduce it when you no longer need it. This solution prevents the over-provisioning of the resources and can significantly reduce the business costs.
• Improved collaboration – you can grant access to some of the applications to your clients, service providers or freelancers, so they can all collaborate easily.
• Reduced operation costs – you no longer need to buy IT equipment and maintain your own data centres. You can also optimize your cloud usage (scale a cloud solution) and, by doing so, optimize the costs of running your business.
• Increased efficiency – you can access various computing resources on-demand and within minutes, which gives you a lot of flexibility.
• Remote working – with the cloud, you can access your data and applications from every device, anywhere and anytime. All you need is the Internet. Your employees will be able to work from home or during business trips. 

Cloud computing is used by the most successful companies all over the world. You can take advantage of this technology no matter what size your company is. Now, it is time to explain what the differences are between different types of cloud computing services.

Differences between IaaS, PaaS and SaaS

Three cloud computing models are most commonly used by companies: SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. Below, you will find important information about the main three cloud computing services.

Is IaaS the right choice for your organisation?

IaaS stands for Infrastructure as a Service – this service grants access to outsourced hardware from cloud providers through the Internet. This includes servers, storage space and networking features. So imagine you have to choose between SaaS vs PaaS vs IaaS. When is IaaS the best choice for business?

Select IaaS if: 

1. You don’t have financial resources, or you don’t want to spend your money on creating your own data centre, but you still need the flexibility of having the whole low-level infrastructure with servers and networks – this type of cloud computing service is great for startups at the beginning of their journey. 
2. You want to leverage the benefits of the cloud solutions, such as scalability and reduced operation costs, but You also need to have complete control over your computing infrastructure or you have custom requirements not accessible on the other cloud services.
3. You expect your company to grow and change dynamically. In this case, it is good to invest in a flexible and scalable solution.

Simply, if you want a space in the cloud to install operating systems and software of your own choice that is supposed to be accessible for all your infrastructure users, IaaS is a good choice.

What is a PaaS?

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a great solution for companies that work with technologies. You can understand a platform as an IT tool (for example, the app hosting engine) that serves developers in developing, running and managing business applications without having their own software development infrastructure. If you pick this option, your developers will receive the development tools, operating systems and infrastructure needed for developing applications and business systems. This cuts down the time to deliver the solution, because the team can focus on coding instead of setting up the infrastructure.

You should consider choosing PaaS instead of IaaS or SaaS if:

1. You want to make developers’ collaboration on the project easier and more efficient. 
2. The organisation you run is involved in custom software development, and you require a flexible environment and more powerful tools. 
3. Your company specializes in developing mobile applications (PaaS can improve cross-platform application development). 
4. Reducing business costs is your priority. You’d like to take advantage of a subscription-based service for a software house in order to benefit from flexible pricing options and gain the capability to adjust resource availability to your business needs.

PaaS means – in short – that you get scalable, flexible access to a platform with tools for software and application development.

Would SaaS suit your business needs best?

If your company needs certain, ready software products hosted in the cloud for comfortable remote working and smooth cooperation, you should think of Software as a Service. After reading this comparison of IaaS, PaaS and SaaS, you probably already know that this is an option usually chosen by non-tech companies. The customer simply buys access to the chosen business tool and uses it on a daily basis.

This cloud computing service option will be the best for you if:

1. You are looking for pre-built, ready to use software for your company, such as a marketing automation tool, an email marketing system, software for HR management etc. 
2. After creating a company, you want to serve your customers right away, and you don’t have the time or resources to develop custom software. 
3. Your organisation joined some project, and you need certain business tools only for a set period of time. 
4. Efficiently operating your company requires access to the software from both mobile devices and computers.

SaaS is an ideal cloud computing model for your company if you are looking for a business system with particular features that will be hosted in the cloud and will enable you to work remotely and collaborate efficiently. 

Why is it so important to learn the difference between IaaS, PaaS and SaaS before choosing cloud services?

Through cloud computing, companies are becoming more flexible, efficient and competitive. Cloud-based services also allow them to significantly reduce overall costs. To choose an optimal cloud computing model for your organisation you need to understand the differences between IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. If you have a problem choosing the best solution, contact our consultants. Will be happy to advise you.

Check out our blog for more in-depth articles on Cloud Computing:

• How to build serverless applications
• What is Cloud Computing?
• Best Cloud Storage for Business