In the business world, the customer plays the most important role for software companies. Platforms for developers support their work in order to quickly provide user-friendly programs. One variant of this is cloud environments, which are available to developers of software as a Platform as a Service (PaaS). Here you can learn more about the features, types and application areas of PaaS solutions.
What does Platform as a Service mean?
Platform as a Service, or PaaS for short, is part of a model in cloud computing. Here, PaaS assumes the function as a platform between the cloud infrastructure and the cloud application. But what exactly does this mean? In the layered model of cloud services, computing power, storage and networks (Infrastructure as a Service) are extended to create an efficient environment for the development and execution of software with the help of programming.
This enables programmers to write, document and test the code of a new software directly in the cloud. By comparison, in a delivery model based on Software as a Service (SaaS), users are already executing a finished web application. Both delivery models, SaaS and PaaS, are closely related because feedback from users of a SaaS service helps in the development of PaaS.
Advantages of Platform as a Service
Using platforms as an environment to develop programs through collaborative work has many advantages. PaaS services became more popular when several PaaS providers launched the first cloud services starting in 2010.
The growth of cloud services led to the effective distribution of IT resources in enterprises becoming more important. Here, virtual machines and clouds came into use to integrate environments into existing IT structures and to design them in such a way that it became possible to program applications over them. Uniform tools and agile processes thus facilitated and accelerated the development of software.
The greatest advantage of Platform as a Service is rapid product development, as there is no need for in-house acquisition and management of infrastructure and capacities are not blocked. This advantage is interesting for fast-growing IT companies that are constantly programming new applications for the Web.
But there are other advantages that make a PaaS solution interesting for companies.
Scalability: Like other cloud applications, PaaS environments can be expanded or reduced quickly and flexibly. With little effort, it is possible to respond to user needs in order to provide the appropriate size for a platform.
Integrated development environment: PaaS has the advantage that external applications can be easily integrated via the cloud. It is also possible to link multiple systems.
Costs: Companies that are constantly developing are given the opportunity to grow through Platform as a Service without having to constantly adapt their system in a new and cost-intensive way. The servers, tools and innovative functions, i.e. the complete environment for programming, are provided as a calculable cost factor via a monthly flat rate.
PaaS: Disadvantages of a development platform
Nevertheless, the principle applies for IT departments to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of PaaS carefully. One disadvantage is the lack of influence on the configuration, customization and updates of the platform. These tasks are the responsibility of the service provider of a PaaS solution. It is equally cumbersome to provide new functions for the platform because this option is reserved for the provider, which sometimes pursues its own strategies.
In addition, there is a risk that the PaaS service provider will no longer be able to offer its service, for example due to insolvency. Then there is the threat of losing the complete working environment. The circumstance of having to transform the source code in larger projects, for example in the case of a move, must be classified as problematic. The code must then be migrated completely, but when changing a platform, the transfer is not always possible in its entirety.
What are Paas providers?
The best-known cloud providers with a PaaS solution include Microsoft Windows Azure, Salesforce’s force.com and Google App Engine. Providers face the challenge of building the scalable solution for a software asynchronously depending on the model of programming. In parallel, providers must consistently ensure a high level of resilience. To meet this performance requirement, they operate multiple instances simultaneously.
PaaS providers offer access to the platform either via their own public cloud or link the client’s systems to the PaaS offerings via a hybrid cloud. While Google Cloud, for example, already manages access for end users, other providers focus primarily on business customers.
Overview of PaaS variants
Cloud computing has become established worldwide. As a result, various forms of a Platform as a Service environment have also emerged among the PaaS offerings. Most PaaS solutions are limited to providing a scalable developer platform for running cloud applications. However, other variants of PaaS services exist:
Application PaaS (aPaaS): this form focuses on a cloud environment for business applications that is accessed or integrated with a programmed interface. An example of aPaaS is appointment management applications.
Integration and Governance PaaS (iPaaS): This type is capable of seamlessly connecting different cloud programs to synchronize data in a legal and factual framework. iPaaS accordingly organizes collaboration between diverse heterogeneous software applications.
Communication PaaS (cPaaS): This PaaS variant focuses on the function of communication. Various communication channels for mobile messaging can be managed and used in an interface in the browser.
Open PaaS: In this type, there are no specifications for the type of programming language, database system or operating system. This creates an open platform for new applications. Better known as open source solutions, they benefit from a strong and transparent developer community. One of the best-known platforms for open source is Cloud Foundry.
Application areas for Platform as a Service
The application areas for service models as Platform as a Service vary greatly. Many companies are now looking very closely at the market for cloud computing. Their aim is to find tailored and simple applications that serve as a basis for their own developments and contribute to operational success.
Master Data Management: Such a deployment scenario is very important for enterprise companies. Here, critical data, such as policies and standards, are consolidated in a clear and cleansed manner. Using modern MDM technologies, PaaS providers make the documents available in a comprehensive data management platform in real time.
Business Analytics: cloud-based business analytics technologies support advanced data analytics in an enterprise. These applications of cloud computing services assist in efficiently examining, monitoring and evaluating all the figures of a business.
Business process management: Business processes as well as their organization and structure can be created and adapted quickly and easily with PaaS tools. The mapping of new or improved processes can be vividly modeled directly in a cloud using drag-and-drop.
Internet of Things: The Internet of Things is a forward-looking technology platform. Networked machines and devices exchange their data via specific systems, creating completely new business models and solution approaches in the IT world. Sensors and smart objects support processes that can be used to communicate via the Internet and clouds.
A special area of application for PaaS is app development using the modular principle for mobile devices. This allows users to create their own apps for iOS or Android in the cloud using an app builder, even without any knowledge of programming. The finished individual parts of an app are assembled into a final web application using the platform principle. The respective PaaS provider provides simple and clear content elements for this purpose.
Platform as a Service and TeamDrive
Companies are advised to compare the offerings of leading PaaS providers and select the appropriate PaaS solution for the intended solution purpose. Particular attention should be paid to the IT infrastructure and compliance requirements provided by these providers for projects. TeamDrive’s IT services can also be used in PaaS environments via the API interfaces offered.
