If you're new to cloud computing, you might have heard of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. These acronyms represent the three main service models of cloud computing. Understanding their differences can help you navigate Cloud Confusion and choose the right cloud services.

Infrastructure as a Service provides you with virtual machines.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is the simplest cloud computing model; you're simply renting resources from your provider.

These resources can include virtual machines, storage, and network resources. With IaaS, you can build and manage your infrastructure on top of the cloud provider's infrastructure. Examples of IaaS providers include Google Cloud Compute Engine, Amazon Web Services EC2, and Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines.

Use IaaS when you want to maintain complete control over your infrastructure.

Platform as a Service provides ready-made environments for you to build on.

The Platform as a Service (PaaS) model provides a set-up environment where you don't have to care about infrastructure.

With PaaS, you can focus on developing your applications while the cloud provider manages the underlying infrastructure. You can still use your own tools on top of PaaS to control your environment. Examples of PaaS providers include Google Cloud App Engine, Microsoft Azure App Service, and Salesforce Heroku.

Use PaaS when you want to focus on your application rather than infrastructure.

Software as a Service gives you a final application to use.

SaaS is the model you are most familiar with; you pay for a service and use it online.

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a cloud computing model that provides access to software applications over the Internet. With SaaS, you don't need to install and maintain software on your devices; instead, you can access the software through a web browser or mobile app. Examples of SaaS providers include Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365, and even Netflix is a SaaS.

I recommend a SaaS solution when you want to solve a problem without building your own solution.