iaas v paas

Cloud Alphabet Soup Decoded: IaaS vs PaaS in Plain English for Oracle EBS Users

A decade and a half ago, software-as-a-service providers like Salesforce.com introduced “SaaS” into the business applications vocabulary. Since then, “X”-as-a-Service (XaaS) solutions have gone forth and multiplied. Every time you turn around, someone is pushing a new “X” as a service solution. Yet, in the ERP space, XaaS solutions have been slow to gain traction, in part because solutions like on premise Oracle E-Business Suite have been so dominant.

But times are changing. With this in mind, we’d like to share two excerpts from our white paper “Cloud 101 for Oracle E-Business Suite Users” that detail PaaS and IaaS in plain English.

PaaS Explained in Plain English

Here is what the white paper has to say about PaaS:

Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model that delivers software tools, typically needed for application development, as a service over the Internet. PaaS frees clients from having to install in-house hardware and manage software to support development initiatives. In a recent IDG cloud computing survey, 6 in 10 companies surveyed use platform-as-a-service.

PaaS does not typically replace an organization’s entire application infrastructure. Instead, a business relies on PaaS providers for key services, such as Java-based application hosting and dynamic scaling of a serverless architecture. It is the responsibility of the PaaS provider to manage the platform up through the middleware layer, while the client is responsible for the actual application, as well as managing user access and security…

Before partnering with a PaaS Provider, Oracle E-Business Suite users must ensure the sustainability of such a partnership by doing their due diligence on pricing, service uptime and support. Likewise, users must carefully assess security requirements.

“Cloud 101 for Oracle E-Business Suite Users” details how you can do both.

IaaS Explained in Plain English

Here’s preview of what the white paper says about IaaS:

In an IaaS model, a third-party provider such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, or Syntax owns the hardware, management software, servers, storage and other infrastructure components on behalf of its customers. For Oracle E-Business Suite users, for example, Syntax provides the technology platform to run your EBS instance.

An IaaS provider handles technical tasks, including hardware maintenance, capacity, and resiliency planning. Beyond the hardware layer, it is the responsibility of the customer to own and manage the operating system (OS) and up through the rest of the technology stack.

Scalability, architectural transparency and ease of integration with third party applications are critical issues which Oracle E-Business Suite users must assess carefully when partnering with an IaaS provider, and this white paper details how to make those assessments.

Start Educating Yourself on Cloud Options for Oracle EBS Today

Of course IaaS and PaaS are not the only “XaaS” solutions that concern on premise Oracle E-Business Suite users seeking their path to the Cloud. DBaaS and integrations with SaaS solutions are also important. But guess what? We have those covered in the white paper, too.

You can download here “Cloud 101 for Oracle E-Business Suite Users”. Or, if you’re ready to go a step further, Contact Us here to request a 1-1 with one of our Cloud Solution architects.