In a cloud computing model, these services are typically categorized into three main types:
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, including virtual machines, storage, and networking. Users can deploy and manage their own operating systems, applications, and software on these virtualized resources.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS): Offers a platform allowing developers to build, deploy, and manage applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. PaaS provides tools, development frameworks, and middleware to streamline the development process.
- Software as a Service (SaaS): Delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis. Users can access these applications through a web browser without needing to install or maintain them locally. Common examples include email services, office productivity suites, and customer relationship management (CRM) software.