Heaptalk, Jakarta – Because of the superficial understanding of computing technology in the cloud, or what is commonly known as Cloud Computing, many observers and technology users have even fallen into various misconceptions about using the cloud. Which one is cheaper and more effective? Which cloud should you use? And another round of dizziness.
In fact, in almost 99% of the incidents, when a team/organization/company claims to have “moved to the cloud,” what it means is that they have used Infrastructure-as-a-Service, abbreviated as IaaS. However, there are still many and more extensive cloud utilization areas, including Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). How are the three similarities and differences?
Indeed, because they belong to the “cloud” family, the three of them have the same characteristics: which is a way to deliver a service over the public Internet (which correlates the “cloud“). For example, when we had to write reports, create worksheets, or arrange slides for presentations, we relied on Microsoft Office. The single application includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint installed on each computer. However, in this day and age, most of us prefer to express our creativity through Google Docs / Sheets / Slides, all of which are accessed online through Google services. You could say Google Docs is a manifestation of the Cloud-style Office package. No more hunting down and installing apps locally.
In the IaaS / PaaS / SaaS context, the question is that there is no physical infrastructure that must be managed by ourselves. The opposite is “on-premises,” editions with applications that run on a physical server, usually placed in a dedicated room (server room) or data center (data center), and connected to the Internet. In the days before cloud technology, this is what we had to do: buy a CPU and disks, install an operating system, connect to the Internet, and layout the application.
Even in everyday life, there is work to monitor the server, ensure that the hardware is on healthy condition (not overheated, cables always plugged in, etc.). Until the operating system continues to run smoothly (continuously updated, no shortage of swaps, etc.). If a problem occurs, you must also spend time and effort to fix it from an ignorant RAM or a broken hard disk.
What is the difference between IaaS and PaaS or SaaS? It’s easiest to see an illustration of the analogy, Pizza as a Service, the work of Albert Barron, who worked for IBM.
In A Slice of Pizza Journey process, from the making to our mouth, “on-premises” can be described as an activity done alone, and really from the beginning. We have to make the dough and add the tomato sauce, cheese, and other toppings. Then we have to bake it ourselves too (need oven and fire). Then finally serve it (again alone), maybe with fresh lemonade as a compliment.
Meanwhile, IaaS describes as a massive modification of the on-premises mechanism. Its analogy is with a raw Pizza — has been prepared by the vendor (or which can be purchased at the supermarket, often still frozen). Indeed, the pizza slice is yet rough. We still should bake it (still need an oven and fire/gas) and serve it (table, complimentary drinks). However, in the simple words that our work has reduced dramatically. It because the hassle of processing pizza dough is no longer our responsibility.
What if this delicious Pizza was delivered in the PaaS style? In this case, it means that the Pizza is ready, meaning that you can just eat it. I don’t know how, I can call the pizzeria and ask for delivery, or a PHD (Pizza Hut Delivery) style, or with GO-FOOD, Grab Food, and the like. We have very little work. We just have to serve the Pizza according to taste and eat it (and clean it up once it’s finished). No hassles are making dough from scratch—no need to have an oven, microwave, stove, or other cooking utensils.
It will be the same with SaaS; this is compared to eating out. No delivery is required. We just have to choose our favorite diner, order from the menu (for example, the Pizza, along with complimentary drinks), then enjoy the dish. As a bonus, sometimes there is live music, either in street singers or serious musicians, to support the atmosphere. Done eating? Pay cash or swipe the card. Done bye!
On the other hand, other combinations are also great, such as hybrid cloud or multi-cloud.We are going to explain it further.
