Q2Cloud Computing
Question
Q.2. List the various services provided by the cloud to the end user.
Answer
The cloud provides services to end users primarily through three service models: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), along with supporting services such as storage, database, and identity management.
The various services provided by the cloud to end users are commonly categorized into: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) — providing virtualized computing resources (virtual machines, storage, networks) that the user configures and manages (e.g., Amazon EC2); Platform as a Service (PaaS) — providing a ready-to-use development and deployment platform (runtime, libraries, tools) on which users build and run applications without managing the underlying infrastructure (e.g., Google App Engine); Software as a Service (SaaS) — providing complete, ready-to-use software applications accessed over the internet, requiring no installation or infrastructure management by the end user (e.g., Gmail, Salesforce); and additional supporting cloud services such as cloud storage (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive), database-as-a-service, identity and access management, and cloud-based backup/disaster recovery services.