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SaaS, IaaS and PaaS are popular cloud computing software we use to create, build and store information over the cloud. This software helps us build, host and manage all business activities on the internet. There is hardly a single day we don’t interact with at least one of these three forms of software — hence the need to have a basic knowledge of what these cloud computing software do and how we can leverage them even more for our business activities. Below, I’ll break down how exactly SaaS, PaaS and IaaS work and give you some tips on how to choose the best cloud computing software for your business:
Related: Choosing the Right Cloud Platform for Your Startup
SaaS: Software as a Service
Software as a Service (SaaS) is existing cloud-based software created by a (SaaS) company and made available to the general public through the internet. SaaS products are available either through a subscription or a one-time payment. It may also be free.
As an entrepreneur, you often use SaaS products to manage your business documentation and files (Google Drive), have video conferencing with your employees (Zoom), collect prospect contact information and connect with them (HubSpot CRM) and send business emails to our business partners (Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, etc.).
If you’re following the examples above, you will notice that your company does not have to develop its video call software but rather pay a subscription fee to Zoom (a SaaS company). You also don’t have to trouble yourself building in-house storage to keep your business documentation like videos, pictures, spreadsheets, etc. Instead, you pay a one-time payment to purchase space on Google Office Suite (a SaaS product).
Your company also did not build the content management software you used to collect leads and send marketing messages to your prospects. So instead, you paid a subscription fee to Hubspot and started enjoying this service. And lastly, there is something peculiar here: None of this software is installed directly on your computers. Instead, you access them directly through a website or web application. Here are five examples of popular SaaS products below:
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Slack: used for team collaboration and communication
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Hubspot: used for sales, marketing and customer relationship management
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Freshbooks: used for business invoicing and accounting
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Zoom: used for video conferencing and meeting
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Calendly: used for meeting and appointment scheduling
Related: The Rise of SaaS: New Syllabus for Digital Gig Entrepreneurs
PaaS: Platform as a Service
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud-based platform that gives developers all the resources they will need to build custom web applications or software without dealing with data management and storage. Basically, what PaaS companies offer SaaS companies is a platform to build their software for you.
In other words, while you are paying Zoom for using its video conferencing software, Zoom and its developers create and host their software on Google App Engine, Windows Azure and AWS Elastic Beanstalk.
The simple logic here is: While you could have had to go through the stress of hiring in-house engineers to create the software you use for your business management, SaaS companies do this for you by …….