What is IaaS? How Infrastructure as a Service Differs from SaaS and PaaS

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What exactly is IaaS? What makes it different from other cloud services, such as PaaS and SaaS?

Unlike PaaS , which provides a complete environment for deploying applications, and SaaS , which provides complete software solutions, IaaS only gives you access to basic virtual machines, storage, networking, and computing power.

Still confused? Don’t worry. You’ll understand the differences between them by the end of this post. With 91% of businesses moving at least partially to the cloud, this basic understanding is crucial.

Let’s explore what IaaS is, define how it differs from other cloud services, and look at some real-world examples of its use.

What is IaaS in Simple Terms?
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) refers to rentable hard disk space or computing power (e.g. CPU, RAM) of computers connected to the Internet.

You can use these services to host a business application in the cloud, process large amounts of data, or even host your website.

In most cases, cloud computing infrastructure is rented on an hourly basis. Instead of a fixed monthly package that includes several services, you can choose what you need at any given time.

For example, you can add dozens of virtual machines to process a brazil phone number data new data set for just a few hours. You don't have to commit or pay for services you don't use.

It's also a good choice for relatively stable, ongoing use cases, where demand can sometimes fluctuate wildly. For example, you might use it to host your internal CRM or other applications. It's easy to scale up or down based on usage and changes in demand, such as during a busy season.

An Example of IaaS: Amazon EC2
Amazon EC2 was one of the first cloud computing services launched to the public in 2006. It allows you to create instances (virtual machines) in 77 different data centers around the world.

Instances are flexible—no operating system or control panel by default—so you can customize them to fit your needs, whether you’re testing your software on multiple operating systems, hosting a website, or processing big data.