Cloud Computing For Dummies®

Chapter 11. Exploring Platform as a Service

In This Chapter

• Examining integrated lifecycle platform as a service

• Exploring anchored lifecycle platform as a service

• Enabling platforms as a service

There are many ways to approach cloud computing, depending on what business problem you're trying to solve. When organizations are looking for capacity on demand, they often look to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). However, when an organization is looking for a deeper set of capabilities, they look at Platform as a Service (PaaS).

Of course, like everything in life, there are shades of gray. In fact, many companies that fit into the IaaS category offer platform services as well. But to keep things a little simpler, we focus on the technologies and companies that provide infrastructure and various development and deployment services for the cloud.

Note

Although PaaS has many definitions, we'd like you to think about it as a computing platform that includes a set of development, middleware, and deployment capabilities. A key vendor characteristic is creating and encouraging a deep ecosystem of partners who all commit to this environment for the future.

In this chapter, we discuss what types of services are included in a Platform as a Service, the variety of approaches, and the considerations that you should take into account. We provide examples of several key platforms emerging on the PaaS market.

Putting Platform as a Service on a Pedestal

There isn't only one approach to PaaS. In fact, the lines ...