Choosing a cloud service starts with responsibility. How much control do you need over the operating system? Are you developing your own application? Do you have a team to operate it? These answers help identify the right service level.
Three models, three levels of control
The NIST definition distinguishes IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. IaaS provides computing, networking and storage resources while the customer controls operating systems and applications. PaaS provides an environment for deploying applications, with the provider operating the underlying platform. SaaS gives access to a ready-made application with its supported configuration options.
One challenge, several approaches
A company needs a customer management system. It could deploy a CRM on a virtual server, develop an application on a managed platform or subscribe to a ready-made cloud CRM. These approaches address a similar business need but require different team involvement and offer different freedom to change.
Questions for comparing offers
- Who updates the application and its environment?
- Which settings and integrations are available, and which are constrained by the platform?
- Who creates backups and who performs recovery?
- How can you export data and leave the service?
- What is included in the price, how is usage measured and which work is billed separately?
- Which support and availability terms apply to the selected service?
Look at the whole picture
A company may use several models at once: hosted email, a managed environment for its product and virtual servers for specialized applications. Prepare a list of systems, their owners and constraints, then compare options with the same scope, including support and data transfer.
Explore the Intro cloud service catalog or discuss your particular requirements.