Cloud Platforms

Cloud platforms are of three types

1. Public
2. Private
3. Hybrid

 PUBLIC

Public cloud space provides the infrastructure and services over

the public internet and are hosted at the cloud vendor’s
premises. In a public cloud, the infrastructure and services are
provisioned from a remote location hosted at the cloud
provider’s datacenter and the customer has no control and
limited visibility over where the service is hosted. But they can
use those services anytime anywhere as needed. In the Public
Cloud, the core computing infrastructure is shared among
several organizations. That said, each organization’s data,
applications, and infrastructure are separated and can only be
accessed by the authorized personnel..

Public Cloud refers to the cloud computing model with which the

IT services are delivered across the Internet. The service may be
free, freemium or a subscription-based offering charged based
on the computing resources consumed. The computing
functionality may range from common services such as email,
apps and storage to the enterprise-grade OS platform or
infrastructure environments used for software development and
testing. The cloud vendor is responsible for developing,
managing and maintaining the pool of computing resources
shared between multiple tenants from across the network. The
defining features of a public cloud solution include high elasticity
and scalability for IT-enabled services delivered at a low cost
subscription-based pricing tier. As the most popular model of
cloud computing services, the public cloud offers vast choices in
terms of solutions and computing resources to address the
growing needs of organizations of all sizes and verticals.
 The advantages of Public Cloud solutions for business customers
include:

 No investments required to deploy and maintain the IT

infrastructure.
 High scalability and flexibility to meet unpredictable workload
demands.
 Reduced complexity and requirements on IT expertise as the
cloud vendor is responsible to manage the infrastructure.
 Flexible pricing options based on different SLA offerings.
 The cost agility allows organizations to follow lean growth
strategies and focus their investments on innovation
projects.

Suitable choice for:

 Predictable computing needs, such as communication

services for a specific number of users.
 Apps and services necessary to perform IT and business
operations.
 Additional resource requirements to address varying peak
demands.
 Software development and test environments.
 Limitations:

 The total cost of ownership (TCO) can rise exponentially for

large-scale usage, specifically for midsize to large enterprises.
 Not the most viable solution for security and availability
sensitive mission-critical IT workloads.
 Low visibility and control into the infrastructure, which may
not suffice to meet regulatory compliance.

 PRIVATE

A Private Cloud, as the name suggests, is a cloud infrastructure

that is meant for use exclusively by a single organization. The
cloud is then owned, managed and operated exclusively by the
organization or by a third-party vendor or both together. In this
cloud model, the infrastructure is provisioned on the
organization premise but may be hosted in a third-party data
center. However, in most cases a Private Cloud infrastructure is
implemented and hosted in an on-premise data center using a
virtualization layer. Private cloud environments offer greater
configurability support to any application and even support
those legacy applications that suffer from performance issues in
Public Clouds.

While the Private Cloud offers the greatest level of control and
security, it does demand that the organization purchase and
maintain all the infrastructure and acquire and retain the skill to
do so. This makes the Private Cloud significantly more expensive
and a not-so-viable option for small or mid-sized organizations.
 Private Cloud refers to the cloud solution dedicated for use by a
single organization. The data center resources may be located
on-premise or operated by a third-party vendor off-site. The
computing resources are isolated and delivered via a secure
private network, and not shared with other customers. Private
cloud is customizable to meet the unique business and security
needs of the organization. With greater visibility and control into
the infrastructure, organizations can operate compliance-
sensitive IT workloads without compromising on the security and
performance previously only achieved with dedicated on-
premise data centers.

The advantages of private cloud for business organizations

include:

 Dedicated and secure environments that cannot be accessed

by other organizations.
 Compliance to stringent regulations as organizations can run
protocols, configurations and measures to customize security
based on unique workload requirements.
 High scalability and efficiency to meet unpredictable
demands without compromising on security and
performance.
  High SLA performance and efficiency.
 Flexibility to transform the infrastructure based on ever-
changing business and IT needs of the organization.

Suitable choice for:

 Highly regulated industries and government agencies.

 Technology companies that require strong control and
security over their IT workloads and the underlying
infrastructure.
 Large enterprises that require advanced data center
technologies to operate efficiently and cost-effectively.
 Organizations that can afford to invest in high performance
and availability technologies.

Limitations:

 Expensive solution with a relatively high total cost of

ownership as compared to public cloud alternatives for short-
term use cases.
 Mobile users may have limited access to the private cloud
considering the high security measures in place.
 The infrastructure may not offer high scalability to meet
unpredictable demands if the cloud data center is limited to
on-premise computing resources.

 HYBRID
Hybrid Cloud almost serves as a mid-way point between Public
and Private Cloud. The Hybrid Cloud uses a combination of at
least one Private and one Public Cloud. The Private Cloud can be
on-premise or even a virtual private cloud located outside the
organization’s data center. A Hybrid Cloud can also consist of
multiple Private and Public Clouds and may use many active
servers, physical or virtualized, which are not a part of the Private
Cloud. With the Hybrid Cloud, organizations can keep each
business aspect in the most efficient cloud format possible.
However, with the Hybrid Cloud, organizations have to manage
multiple security platforms and aspects and also ensure that all
the cloud properties can communicate seamlessly with one
another

Hybrid Cloud refers to the cloud infrastructure environment that

is a mix of public and private cloud solutions. The resources are
typically orchestrated as an integrated infrastructure
environment. Apps and data workloads can share the resources
between public and private cloud deployment based on
organizational business and technical policies around security,
performance, scalability, cost and efficiency, among other
aspects. For instance, organizations can use private cloud
environments for their IT workloads and complement the
infrastructure with public cloud resources to accommodate
occasional spikes in network traffic. As a result, access to
additional computing capacity does not require the high CapEx of
a private cloud environment but is delivered as a short-term IT
service via a public cloud solution. The environment itself is
seamlessly integrated to ensure optimum performance and
scalability to changing business needs
Advantages of Hybrid Cloud to business organizations include:

 Flexible policy-driven deployment to distribute workloads

across public and private infrastructure environments based
on security, performance and cost requirements.
 Scalability of public cloud environments is achieved without
exposing sensitive IT workloads to the inherent security risks.
 High reliability as the services are distributed across multiple
data centers across public and private data centers.
 Improved security posture as sensitive IT workloads run on
dedicated resources in private clouds while regular
workloads are spread across inexpensive public cloud
infrastructure to tradeoff for cost investments.

Suitable choice for:

 Organizations serving multiple verticals facing different IT

security, regulatory and performance requirements.
 Optimizing cloud investments without compromising on the
value proposition of either public or private cloud
technologies.
 Improving security on existing cloud solutions such as SaaS
offerings that must be delivered via secure private networks.
 Strategically approaching cloud investments to continuously
switch and tradeoff between the best cloud service delivery
model available in the market.
 Limitations:

 It can get expensive.

 Strong compatibility and integration is required between
cloud infrastructure spanning different locations and
categories. This is a limitation with public cloud deployments,
for which organizations lack direct control over the
infrastructure.
 Additional infrastructure complexity is introduced as
organizations operate and manage an evolving mix of private
and public cloud architecture.

CLOUD COMPUTING MODELS

Overall, each cloud model offers its own specific features and
functionalities, and it is crucial for your organization to
understand the differences. Whether you are looking for
cloud-based software for storage options, a smooth platform
that allows you to create customized applications, or are
wanting complete control over your entire infrastructure
without having to physically maintain it, there is a cloud service
for you.

 Iaas (Infrastructure as a service)

 Paas (Platform as a service)
 Saas (Software as a service)

Saas(Software as a service)
Software as a Service, also known as cloud application
services, represents the most commonly utilized option for
businesses in the cloud market. SaaS utilizes the internet to
deliver applications, which are managed by a third-party
vendor, to it’s users. A majority of SaaS applications are run
directly through the web browser, and do not require any
downloads or installations on the client side.

Due to its web delivery model, SaaS eliminates the need to

have IT staff download and install applications on each
individual computer. With SaaS, vendors manage all of the
potential technical issues, such as data, middleware, servers,
and storage, allowing businesses to streamline their
maintenance and support.

SaaS Advantages
SaaS provides numerous advantages to employees and
companies by greatly reducing the time and money spent on
tedious tasks such as installing, managing, and upgrading
software. This frees up plenty of time for technical staff to
spend on more pressing matters and issues within the
organization.

SaaS Characteristics
There are a few ways to help you determine when SaaS is
being utilized:

 Managed from a central location

 Hosted on a remote server
 Accessible over the internet
 Users not responsible for hardware or software updates

When to Use SaaS

There are many different situations in which SaaS may be the
most beneficial option, including:

 If you are a startup or small company that needs to launch

ecommerce quickly and don’t have time for server issues
or software
 For short-term projects that require collaboration
 If you use applications that aren’t in-demand very often,
such as tax software
 For applications that need both web and mobile access

SaaS Limitations and Concerns

 Interoperability: Integration with existing apps and
services can be a major concern if the SaaS app is not
designed to follow open standards for integration. In this
case, organizations may need to design their own
integration systems or reduce dependencies with SaaS
services, which may not always be possible.
 Vendor Lock-In: Vendors may make it easy to join a
service and difficult to get out of it. For instance, the data
may not be portable – technically or cost-effectively –
across SaaS apps from other vendors without incurring
significant cost or inhouse engineering rework. Not every
vendor follows standard APIs, protocols and tools, yet the
features could be necessary for certain business tasks.
 Lack of Integration Support: Many organizations require
deep integrations with on-premise apps, data and services.
The SaaS vendor may offer limited support in this regard,
forcing organizations to invest internal resources in
designing and managing integrations. The complexity of
integrations can further limit how the SaaS app or other
dependent services can be used.
 Data Security: Large volumes of data may have to be
exchanged to the backend data centers of SaaS apps in
order to perform the necessary software functionality.
Transferring sensitive business information to public-cloud
based SaaS service may compromise security and
compliance, as well as incur significant cost in migrating
large data workloads.
 Customization: SaaS apps offer minimal customization
capabilities. Since a one-size-fits-all solution does not exist,
users may be limited to specific functionality, performance
and integrations as offered by the vendor. In contrast, on-
premise solutions that come with several SDKs offer a high
degree of customization options.
 Lack of Control: SaaS solutions effectively involves
handing over controls to the third-party service provider.
 These controls are not limited to the software – in terms of
the version, updates or appearance – but also the data and
governance. Customers may therefore need to redefine
their data security and governance models to fit the
features and functionality of the SaaS service.
 Feature Limitations: Since SaaS apps often come in a
standardized form, the choice of features may be a
compromising tradeoff against security, cost, performance
or other organizational policies. Furthermore, due to the
vendor lock-in, cost or security concerns, it may not be
viable to switch vendors or services to serve new feature
requirements in the future.
 Performance and Downtime: Since the vendor controls
and manages the SaaS service, customers depend on
vendors to maintain security and performance of the
service. Planned and unplanned maintenance, cyber-
attacks or network issues may impact the performance of
the SaaS app despite adequate Service Level Agreement
(SLA) protections in place.

Paas(Platform as a service)
Cloud platform services, or Platform as a Service (PaaS),
provide cloud components to certain software while being
used mainly for applications. PaaS delivers a framework for
developers that they can build upon and use to create
customized applications. All servers, storage, and networking
can be managed by the enterprise or a third-party provider
while the developers can maintain management of the
applications.

The delivery model of PaaS is similar to SaaS, except instead of

delivering the software over the internet, PaaS provides a
platform for software creation. This platform is delivered over
the web, and gives developers the freedom to concentrate on
building the software while still not having to worry about
operating systems, software updates, storage, or
infrastructure.

PaaS allows businesses to design and create applications that

are built into the PaaS with special software components.
These applications, or middleware, are scalable and highly
available as they take on certain cloud characteristics.

PaaS Advantages
No matter what size your company may be, there are
numerous advantages for using PaaS:

 Makes the development and deployment of apps simple

and cost-effective
 Scalable
 Highly available
 Gives developers the ability to create customized apps
without the headache of maintaining the software
 Greatly reduces the amount of coding
 Automates business policy
 Allows easy migration to the hybrid model

PaaS Characteristics
PaaS has many characteristics that define it as a cloud service,
including:

 It is built on virtualization technology, meaning resources

can easily be scaled up or down as your business changes
 Provides a variety of services to assist with the
development, testing, and deployment of apps
 Numerous users can access the same development
application
 Web services and databases are integrated
When to Use PaaS
There are many situations where utilizing PaaS is beneficial or
even necessary. If there are multiple developers working on
the same development project, or if other vendors must be
included as well, PaaS can provide great speed and flexibility to
the entire process. PaaS is also beneficial if you wish to be able
to create your own customized applications. This cloud service
also can greatly reduce costs and it can simplify some
challenges that come up if you are rapidly developing or
deploying an app.

PaaS Limitations and Concerns

 Data Security: Even though organizations can run their

own apps and services using PaaS solutions, the data
residing in third-party cloud servers controlled by vendors
poses security risks and concerns. The security options
may also be limited as customers may not be able to
deploy services with specific hosting policies.
 Integrations: The complexity of connecting the data
stored within inhouse data center or off-premise cloud is
increased and may affect which apps and services can be
adopted with the PaaS offering. Especially when not every
component of a legacy IT system is built for the cloud,
integration with existing services and infrastructure may be
a challenge.
 Vendor Lock-In: Business and technical requirements that
drive decision for a specific PaaS solution may not apply in
the future. If the vendor has not provisioned convenient
migration policies, switching to alternative PaaS options
may not be possible without affecting the business.
 Customization of Legacy Systems: PaaS may not be a
plug-and-play solution for existing legacy apps and
services. Several customizations and configuration changes
 may be necessary for legacy systems to work with the PaaS
service. The resulting customization may lead to a complex
IT system that may limit the value of the PaaS investment
altogether.
 Runtime Issues: In addition to limitations associated with
specific apps and services, PaaS solutions may not be
optimized for the language and frameworks of your choice.
Specific framework versions may not be available or
perform optimally with the PaaS service and customers
may not be able to develop custom dependencies with the
platform.
 Operational Limitation: Customized cloud operations
management automation workflows may not be applicable
to PaaS solutions as the platform tends to limit operational
capabilities for end-users. Although this is intended to
reduce the operational burden on end-users, the loss of
operational control may affect how PaaS solutions are
managed, provisioned and operated.

Iaas(Infrastructure as a service)
Cloud infrastructure services, known as Infrastructure as a
Service (IaaS), are made of highly scalable and automated
compute resources. IaaS is fully self-service for accessing and
monitoring things like computers, networking, storage, and
other services, and it allows businesses to purchase resources
on-demand and as-needed instead of having to buy hardware
outright.

IaaS delivers Cloud Computing infrastructure, including things

such as servers, network, operating systems, and storage,
through virtualization technology. These cloud servers are
typically provided to the organization through a dashboard or
an API, and IaaS clients have complete control over the entire
infrastructure. IaaS provides the same technologies and
capabilities as a traditional data center without having to
physically maintain or manage all of it. IaaS clients can still
access their servers and storage directly, but it is all
outsourced through a “virtual data center” in the cloud.

As opposed to SaaS or PaaS, IaaS clients are responsible for

managing aspects such as applications, runtime, OSes,
middleware, and data. However, providers of the IaaS manage
the servers, hard drives, networking, virtualization, and
storage. Some providers even offer more services outside of
the virtualization layer, such as databases or message
queuing.

IaaS Advantages
There are many benefits of choosing IaaS, such as:

 It’s the most flexible cloud computing model

 Easily allows for automated deployment of storage,
networking, servers, and processing power
 Hardware can be purchased based on consumption
 Gives clients complete control of their infrastructure
 Resources can be purchased as-needed
 Is highly scalable

IaaS Characteristics
Some characteristics to look for when considering IaaS are:

 Resources are available as a service

 The cost varies depending on consumption
 Services are highly scalable
 Typically includes multiple users on a single piece of
hardware
  Provides complete control of the infrastructure to
organizations
 Dynamic and flexible

When to Use IaaS

Just as with SaaS and PaaS, there are specific situations when it
is the most advantageous to use IaaS. If you are a startup or a
small company, IaaS is a great option because you don’t have
to spend the time or money trying to create hardware and
software. IaaS is also beneficial for large organizations that
wish to have complete control over their applications and
infrastructures, but are looking to only purchase what is
actually consumed or needed. For rapidly growing companies,
IaaS can be a good option since you don’t have to commit to a
specific hardware or software as your needs change and
evolve. It also helps if you are unsure what demands a new
application will require as there is a lot of flexibility to scale up
or down as needed.

IaaS Limitations and Concerns

Many limitations associated with SaaS and PaaS models – such
as data security, cost overruns, vendor lock-in and
customization issues – are also applicable to the IaaS model.
Some of the additional limitations to IaaS include:

 Security: While the customer is in control of the apps,

data, middleware and the OS platform, security threats can
still be sourced from the host or other VMs. Insider threat
or system vulnerabilities may expose data communication
between the host infrastructure and VMs to unauthorized
entities.
 Legacy Systems Operating in the Cloud: While
customers can run legacy apps in the cloud, the
infrastructure may not be designed to deliver specific
 controls to secure the legacy apps. Minor enhancement to
legacy apps may be required before migrating them to the
cloud, possibly leading to new security issues unless
adequately tested for security and performance in the IaaS
systems.
 Internal Resources and Training: Additional resources
and training may be required for the workforce to learn
how to effectively manage the infrastructure. Customers
will be responsible for data security, backup and business
continuity. Due to inadequate control into the
infrastructure however, monitoring and management of
the resources may be difficult without adequate training
and resources available inhouse.
 Multitenant Security: Since the hardware resources are
dynamically allocated across users as made available, the
vendor is required to ensure that other customers cannot
access data deposited to storage assets by previous
customers. Similarly, customers must rely on the vendor to
ensure that VMs are adequately isolated within the
multitenant cloud architecture

Common Examples of SaaS, PaaS, & IaaS

Platform
Type Common Examples

Google Apps, Dropbox, Salesforce, Cisco WebEx,

SaaS Concur, GoToMeeting

PaaS AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Windows Azure, Heroku,

 Force.com, Google App Engine, Apache Stratos,
OpenShift

DigitalOcean, Linode, Rackspace, Amazon Web

Services (AWS), Cisco Metapod, Microsoft Azure,
IaaS Google Compute Engine (GCE)