The success of the internet is mostly based on the comfort provided for all its users. Every user can choose a website over another because it is easier to use, even though the other one may have something better to offer. This is a major factor needed to be taken under consideration by all software developers.



Websites are built every second for various purposes. Most of them have some sort of web applications that can drive an average user insane. Download, install, use are the three things that can describe a normal process, but it can take some time. What if there is something that can eliminate all those steps? That small little thing is called software as a service.

This is the process where a software application is entirely web-based, even though it may require hardware to run. There are no more downloads and installations needed, not to mention the software maintenance, operation and support.

This is the first concept that has led to the development of platform as a service. This is a more complex concept that meets the requirements of most users, facilitating the access to a lot of other benefits like application design and development, testing, deploying and hosting.

In order to understand platform as a service better, I'll try to explain with something you are used to. Since you are already using the internet, then you are sure to have a computer. The operating system on your computer works exactly like a platform as a service concept.

You can run certain applications on the operating system, which are meant to aid you in your activities. Those applications ran on the operating system can be compared to the software as a service, only this takes place over the internet. In the same direction, the platform as a service can be compared to the operating system used to run those applications.

In turn, the platform as a service is part of a larger concept called cloud computing. This is something more complex than the first two presented afore, which grants access to a lot more resources, yet this is in turn a part of grid computing.

Increasing the complexity of the web based concepts, from platform as a service to cloud computing and beyond, is meant to decrease the need of sophisticated hardware and software which are near at the hand of the user, and this increases availability.

Cloud computing is meant to increase the level of comfort with which users access web applications. Since comfort is a key feature in the internet world, the cloud computing revolution is sure to be adopted by users around the world with open arms.

There are many names under which these concepts can be found over the web. They are the same, sometimes confused among them, but their adoption is only meant to make the internet world an easier place to access and enjoy.