This week we are learning about service models. Cloud services can be obtained as a number of different services, based on the user's needs and requirements. Among additional products, three of those service models are the fundamental ones -  Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
SaaS allows a user to use a software product without having to deal with anything that comes with owning software - updates, maintenance of hardware, backups, security etc. The SaaS provider simply provides the software to the user and takes care of everything else.
PaaS allows the user to utilize the provider's platform and environment to create applications over the internet, using tools, languages and libraries that are supported by the provider.
IaaS provides virtualized hardware, or a computing infrastructure. This can include virtual server space, bandwidth, network connections and IP addresses. Physical servers and hardware are distributed across several data center which the provider maintains and is responsible for. The user utilizes the virtual components to create his own platform.