BOE082: CLOUD COMPUTING

UNIT II — DETAILED NOTES

Cloud Services & Service Providers
Semester Exam Preparation | 2025-26

Subject Code BOE082

Unit II (Second)

Lectures 08 Proposed

Topics Covered SaaS · PaaS · IaaS · DaaS · MaaS · CaaS | Google · Amazon · Azure · IBM · Salesforce
 1. Introduction to Cloud Services
Cloud services refer to a wide range of services delivered on demand to companies and customers over the
internet. These services are designed to provide easy, affordable access to applications and resources, without
the need for internal infrastructure or hardware.

Cloud service models define what is managed by the provider and what remains the responsibility of the
user. The three fundamental models are SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, with additional specialised models like DaaS,
MaaS, and CaaS.

Tip: Think of it like a pizza analogy: IaaS = raw ingredients delivered; PaaS = dough + sauce ready; SaaS = pizza
delivered hot and ready to eat!

What You Manage On-Premises IaaS PaaS SaaS

Applications You You You Provider

Data You You You Provider

Runtime You You Provider Provider

Middleware You You Provider Provider

OS You You Provider Provider

Virtualisation You Provider Provider Provider

Servers / Storage You Provider Provider Provider

Networking You Provider Provider Provider

Green = Managed by Cloud Provider Blue = Managed by User/Organisation

2. Software as a Service (SaaS)

2.1 Definition
SaaS is a software distribution model in which a cloud provider hosts applications and makes them available to
end users over the internet. The user does NOT need to install, manage, or maintain the software — they simply
use it through a web browser or app.

2.2 Key Characteristics

• Accessible via web browser — no installation required
• Multi-tenant architecture — multiple users share the same instance
• Automatic updates handled by the provider
• Subscription-based pricing model (monthly / annually)
• Data stored in the cloud — accessible from any device

2.3 Advantages
• No installation or hardware needed by the user
• Lower cost — pay as you go subscription model
• Automatic updates — always on latest version
• Scalable — add/remove users easily
• Accessible anywhere — any device, any location
2.4 Disadvantages
• Dependent on internet connectivity
• Less customisation compared to on-premise software
• Data security concerns — data stored with third party
• Vendor lock-in — difficult to migrate to another provider

2.5 Examples of SaaS Applications

Category SaaS Product Provider

Email Gmail, Outlook 365 Google, Microsoft

CRM Salesforce CRM Salesforce

Collaboration Google Workspace, Slack Google, Slack

Storage Dropbox, Google Drive Dropbox, Google

Video Conferencing Zoom, Microsoft Teams Zoom, Microsoft

ERP SAP S/4HANA Cloud SAP

Project Mgmt Trello, Asana, Jira Atlassian, etc.

3. Platform as a Service (PaaS)

3.1 Definition
PaaS is a cloud computing model that provides customers a complete platform — hardware, software, and
infrastructure — for developing, running, and managing applications without the complexity of building and
maintaining that infrastructure from scratch.

3.2 Key Characteristics

• Provides development tools, databases, middleware, and runtime environments
• Developer focuses only on writing code — infrastructure is abstracted away
• Supports multiple programming languages and frameworks
• Built-in features: version control, testing, deployment pipelines
• Auto-scaling and load balancing built in

3.3 Advantages
• Faster development — developers focus on code, not infrastructure
• Cost-effective — no server management overhead
• Built-in scalability — handles traffic spikes automatically
• Collaboration — teams can work on same platform simultaneously
• Pre-configured environments — databases, frameworks ready to use

3.4 Disadvantages
• Vendor lock-in — code may be platform-specific
• Limited control over underlying infrastructure
• Security concerns — data handled by third-party platform
• Runtime issues — provider updates can break existing apps
3.5 Examples of PaaS Platforms
PaaS Platform Provider Key Feature

Google App Engine Google Auto-scaling Python/Java/Go apps

AWS Elastic Beanstalk Amazon Deploy web apps without managing EC2

Microsoft Azure App Service Microsoft Host web/mobile apps in Azure

Heroku Salesforce Developer-friendly, Git-based deploy

IBM Cloud Foundry IBM Open-source PaaS on IBM Cloud

Red Hat OpenShift Red Hat Kubernetes-based enterprise PaaS

Firebase Google Mobile/web backend platform

4. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

4.1 Definition
IaaS is the most fundamental cloud service model, providing virtualised computing resources over the internet.
The provider manages the physical hardware, while the customer controls the operating system, storage,
networking, and applications.

4.2 Key Characteristics

• Provides: Virtual Machines, storage, networking, firewalls
• Customer manages: OS, middleware, runtime, apps, data
• Highly flexible and scalable — spin up/down resources on demand
• Pay-per-use billing (per hour / GB / request)
• Full control over the virtualised environment

4.3 Advantages
• Maximum flexibility — full control over infrastructure
• No capital expenditure — no physical hardware to buy
• Disaster recovery — data replicated across multiple locations
• On-demand scaling — scale up in minutes, not weeks
• Global reach — deploy in data centers worldwide

4.4 Disadvantages
• Complex to manage — requires strong IT expertise
• Security responsibility — OS and app security lies with user
• Cost management — easy to over-provision and overspend

4.5 Examples of IaaS Platforms

IaaS Product Provider Description

Amazon EC2 AWS Elastic Compute Cloud — virtual servers on demand

Amazon S3 AWS Simple Storage Service — scalable object storage

Microsoft Azure VMs Microsoft Windows/Linux VMs in Azure data centers

Azure Blob Storage Microsoft Unstructured data storage at massive scale

Google Compute Engine Google High-performance VMs in Google's infrastructure

Google Cloud Storage Google Unified object storage for any amount of data

IBM Virtual Servers IBM Bare-metal and virtual servers on IBM Cloud

5. Database as a Service (DaaS)

5.1 Definition
Database as a Service (DaaS) is a cloud service that provides database management and functionality without
requiring the user to set up physical hardware, install software, or manage the database. The provider handles
provisioning, patching, backup, and scaling.

5.2 Key Characteristics

• Fully managed — no DBA (Database Administrator) needed for routine tasks
• Supports SQL (relational) and NoSQL (non-relational) databases
• Automatic backups, replication, and failover
• On-demand scaling — storage and compute scale independently
• Built-in high availability and disaster recovery

5.3 Advantages vs Disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages

No hardware setup or maintenance Less control over DB configuration

Automatic backups and patching Potential data security concerns

High availability built-in Vendor lock-in (proprietary DB formats)

Easy to scale storage and performance Internet dependency for access

Reduced IT management overhead Latency may be higher than on-premise

DaaS Product Provider Type Use Case

Amazon RDS AWS SQL MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle managed DB

Amazon DynamoDB AWS NoSQL Key-value store for high-traffic apps

Google Cloud SQL Google SQL Fully managed MySQL/PostgreSQL

Google Firestore Google NoSQL Real-time database for mobile apps

Azure SQL Database Microsoft SQL Managed SQL Server in the cloud

Azure Cosmos DB Microsoft NoSQL Globally distributed multi-model DB

IBM Db2 on Cloud IBM SQL Enterprise-grade managed Db2

6. Monitoring as a Service (MaaS)

6.1 Definition
Monitoring as a Service (MaaS) is a cloud service framework that facilitates monitoring of various IT systems,
applications, networks, and infrastructure components hosted on the cloud. It provides real-time visibility into
system health, performance, and availability.
6.2 What Does MaaS Monitor?
• Infrastructure: CPU, memory, disk usage of cloud VMs and servers
• Applications: Response times, error rates, transaction throughput
• Networks: Bandwidth, latency, packet loss
• Databases: Query performance, connection pool, deadlocks
• Security: Intrusion detection, anomaly detection, audit logs
• User Experience: End-user response time, availability from multiple locations

6.3 Key Features of MaaS

• Real-time dashboards and alerting
• Log aggregation and analysis
• Auto-scaling triggers based on thresholds
• Integration with DevOps pipelines (CI/CD)
• Historical data analysis and trend forecasting

6.4 Popular MaaS Tools

Tool Provider Key Capability

AWS CloudWatch Amazon Monitor AWS resources, set alarms, view logs

Azure Monitor Microsoft Full-stack monitoring for Azure services

Google Cloud Monitoring Google Monitor GCP infrastructure and apps

IBM Instana IBM AI-powered APM and infrastructure monitoring

Datadog Datadog Multi-cloud monitoring, APM, log management

New Relic New Relic Full-stack observability platform

Prometheus + Grafana Open Source Time-series metrics and visualisation

7. Communication as a Service (CaaS)

7.1 Definition
Communication as a Service (CaaS) is an outsourced enterprise communication solution hosted and offered
by the cloud service provider. It includes voice, video, messaging, and collaboration tools delivered over the
internet as a managed service.

7.2 Types of Communication Services in Cloud

• VoIP (Voice over IP): Internet-based telephony — replace traditional phone lines
• Video Conferencing: Real-time video meetings over the cloud
• Instant Messaging: Team chat and collaboration tools
• Email Services: Cloud-hosted email with anti-spam, backup
• Unified Communications (UC): Integration of voice + video + messaging + presence
• CPaaS (Communication PaaS): APIs to add communication features to apps (SMS, calls)

7.3 Examples of Communication as a Service

Service Provider Type
Microsoft Teams Microsoft Unified Communication (Chat+Video+Calls)

Google Meet / Chat Google Video conferencing + Team messaging

Zoom Zoom Video conferencing platform

Slack Salesforce Team messaging and collaboration

Twilio Twilio CPaaS — SMS, voice, video APIs for devs

Amazon Chime AWS Video meetings, chat, and business calling

WebEx Cisco Enterprise video and team collaboration

RingCentral RingCentral Cloud business phone + UCaaS platform

8. Comparison of All Cloud Service Models

Model Full Form Who Manages User Manages Best For Examples

SaaS Software as a Service Everything Only usage/data End users, businesses Gmail, Salesforce

PaaS Platform as a Service Infra+Platform App code & data Developers Google App Engine, Heroku

IaaS Infrastructure as a ServicePhysical HW OS, Apps, Data IT teams, DevOps AWS EC2, Azure VMs

DaaS Database as a Service DB engine+infra Schema, queries Data-driven apps Amazon RDS, CosmosDB

MaaS Monitoring as a Service Monitor infra Alerts & dashboards DevOps, SRE teams CloudWatch, Datadog

CaaS Communication as a Service

Comm infra Usage, contacts Enterprise comms Teams, Zoom, Twilio

9. Cloud Service Providers

The major cloud service providers offer a full stack of SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS services. Understanding each
provider's strengths is important for exam questions on service providers.

9.1 Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is Google's suite of cloud computing services. It runs on the same infrastructure
that Google uses for its own products like Search, Gmail, and YouTube.
• Founded: 2008 | Market Share: ~11% (3rd globally)
• Headquarters: Mountain View, California, USA
• Data Centers: 35+ regions worldwide

Category Google Cloud Service Description

IaaS Google Compute Engine (GCE) High-performance virtual machines

PaaS Google App Engine (GAE) Fully managed platform for web apps

SaaS Google Workspace Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Drive

Storage Google Cloud Storage Unified object storage (GCS)

Database Google Cloud SQL / Spanner Managed relational databases

AI/ML Google Vertex AI Machine learning platform

Container Google Kubernetes Engine Managed Kubernetes (GKE)

Analytics Google BigQuery Serverless data warehouse

9.2 Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering
over 200 fully featured services. Launched in 2006, AWS is the clear market leader.
• Founded: 2006 | Market Share: ~33% (World Leader)
• Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, USA
• Data Centers: 33 geographic regions, 105 availability zones

Category AWS Service Description

IaaS Amazon EC2 Elastic Compute Cloud — virtual servers

Storage Amazon S3 Simple Storage Service — object storage

Database Amazon RDS Managed relational database service

NoSQL DB Amazon DynamoDB Serverless NoSQL key-value database

PaaS AWS Elastic Beanstalk Deploy apps without managing infrastructure

Serverless AWS Lambda Run code without provisioning servers

Monitoring Amazon CloudWatch Monitoring and observability service

CDN Amazon CloudFront Global content delivery network

AI/ML Amazon SageMaker Build, train, and deploy ML models

9.3 Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is Microsoft's cloud computing platform, tightly integrated with Microsoft's enterprise products
like Windows Server, Active Directory, and Office 365. It is the preferred cloud for enterprise and hybrid cloud
environments.
• Founded: 2010 | Market Share: ~22% (2nd globally)
• Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, USA
• Data Centers: 60+ regions — largest global footprint

Category Azure Service Description

IaaS Azure Virtual Machines Windows and Linux VMs on demand

Storage Azure Blob Storage Massive scale unstructured data storage

Database Azure SQL Database Managed Microsoft SQL Server in cloud

NoSQL DB Azure Cosmos DB Globally distributed multi-model database

PaaS Azure App Service Build and host web apps and APIs

Serverless Azure Functions Event-driven serverless compute

DevOps Azure DevOps CI/CD pipelines, repos, boards

Monitoring Azure Monitor Full stack monitoring for Azure resources

AI/ML Azure Machine Learning End-to-end ML lifecycle management

9.4 IBM Cloud

IBM Cloud is IBM's cloud computing platform, focusing on enterprise-grade, hybrid cloud, and AI solutions. IBM
is known for its Watson AI services and strong security compliance features.
• Founded: 2011 | Focus: Enterprise, Hybrid Cloud, AI
 • Headquarters: Armonk, New York, USA
• Specialty: Industry-specific clouds (Banking, Healthcare, Telecom)

Category IBM Cloud Service Description

IaaS IBM Virtual Servers Bare-metal and virtual server instances

AI/ML IBM Watson AI platform for NLP, vision, speech

Database IBM Db2 on Cloud Fully managed enterprise Db2 database

PaaS IBM Cloud Foundry Open-source PaaS for app deployment

Container IBM Cloud Kubernetes Managed Kubernetes container platform

Hybrid IBM Cloud Satellite Run IBM Cloud anywhere (on-prem/multi-cloud)

Security IBM Security QRadar Cloud-based SIEM and threat detection

Blockchain IBM Blockchain Platform Enterprise blockchain as a service

9.5 Salesforce
Salesforce is the pioneer of SaaS and the world's leading CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform.
Unlike other providers, Salesforce focuses almost entirely on SaaS and PaaS products built around business
processes.
• Founded: 1999 (first major SaaS company) | Headquarters: San Francisco, USA
• Specialty: CRM, Sales automation, Marketing, Customer Service
• Platform: Salesforce Platform (formerly [Link]) for custom app development

Salesforce Product Category Description

Sales Cloud SaaS/CRM Sales automation, lead and opportunity management

Service Cloud SaaS/CRM Customer support, ticketing, case management

Marketing Cloud SaaS Email marketing, customer journeys, analytics

Commerce Cloud SaaS E-commerce platform for B2B and B2C

Salesforce Platform PaaS Build custom apps with low-code / no-code tools

Tableau SaaS Business intelligence and data visualisation

Slack CaaS/SaaS Team collaboration and messaging platform

MuleSoft PaaS Integration platform to connect apps and data

10. Comparison of Major Cloud Service Providers

Feature AWS Microsoft Azure Google Cloud IBM Cloud Salesforce

Founded 2006 2010 2008 2011 1999

Market Share ~33% (Leader) ~22% (2nd) ~11% (3rd) ~4% SaaS Leader

Strength Broadest services Enterprise/Hybrid AI/ML & Analytics Enterprise AI CRM/Business Apps

IaaS EC2, S3 Azure VMs Compute Engine Virtual Servers Limited

PaaS Elastic Beanstalk App Service App Engine Cloud Foundry Salesforce Platform

SaaS Amazon Apps Office 365 Google Workspace Watson SaaS Sales/Service Cloud

AI/ML SageMaker Azure ML Vertex AI Watson AI Einstein AI

Best For General purpose Windows/Enterprise Data & AI projects Enterprise/Banking CRM & Sales

*. Quick Revision — Key Definitions

Term One-Line Definition

SaaS Software accessed over internet — no installation (e.g. Gmail, Salesforce)

PaaS Platform for building & deploying apps without managing infrastructure (e.g. Heroku)

IaaS Virtualised hardware (VMs, storage, networking) rented over internet (e.g. AWS EC2)

DaaS Fully managed database service with auto-backup and scaling (e.g. Amazon RDS)

MaaS Cloud-based monitoring of infrastructure, apps, and networks (e.g. CloudWatch)

CaaS Communication tools (voice, video, messaging) delivered as cloud service (e.g. Teams)

AWS Amazon Web Services — world's largest cloud provider (~33% market share)

Azure Microsoft's cloud — best for Windows/enterprise hybrid environments (~22%)

GCP Google Cloud Platform — strong in AI/ML and big data analytics (~11%)

IBM Cloud Enterprise cloud with Watson AI and industry-specific cloud solutions

Salesforce World's leading SaaS CRM platform, pioneer of Software-as-a-Service model

Multi-tenancy Multiple users sharing the same software instance (used in SaaS)

CPaaS Communication Platform as a Service — APIs for adding SMS/voice to apps (e.g. Twilio)

EXAM TIPS FOR UNIT II

• Draw the SaaS vs PaaS vs IaaS responsibility • For each service model write: Definition + 3 features
stack diagram — very common 5-mark question. + 3 advantages + 3 examples.

• The pizza analogy (IaaS=ingredients, PaaS=dough

• Know at least 3 services of each major provider
ready, SaaS=pizza delivered) is an excellent way to
(AWS, Azure, Google, IBM, Salesforce).
explain service models.

• MaaS monitors health of cloud resources in real time

• DaaS = Database as a Service (NOT Data as a
— know its key tools (CloudWatch, Azure Monitor,
Service — know the difference!).
Datadog).

• The provider comparison table (AWS vs Azure vs

• CaaS includes VoIP, video conferencing, messaging
GCP vs IBM vs Salesforce) is a high-probability long
— Microsoft Teams and Zoom are prime examples.
question.

BOE082 Cloud Computing | Unit II Notes | Open Elective — VIII Semester 2025-26