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:
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.
IaaS Explained in Plain English:
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.
To learn more, download the white paper - “Cloud 101 for Oracle E-Business Suite Users”.