What is PaaS?

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a type of cloud computing service that provides a platform for customers to develop, run, and manage their applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the underlying infrastructure. PaaS providers offer tools and services, such as databases, web servers, and development frameworks, that developers can use to build and deploy their applications.

PaaS services typically include a development environment, a runtime environment, and a set of services such as databases, storage, and messaging. They also provide a set of management and monitoring tools that allow customers to manage their applications and services.

PaaS is built on top of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and provides a higher-level abstraction of the underlying infrastructure. Developers can use PaaS to develop and deploy their applications without worrying about managing the underlying servers, storage, and networking. This allows them to focus on developing and improving their applications, rather than managing the infrastructure.

Examples of well-known PaaS providers include Heroku, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Microsoft Azure App Service, Google App Engine, and Salesforce’s Force.com.