Free online consultation available. Please feel free to contact us.

PaaS

  • Glossary

「PaaS」

This glossary explains various keywords that will help you understand the mindset necessary for data utilization and successful DX.
This time, we will explain the term "PaaS," which was coined at the beginning of the cloud era, and through it, we will think about the essence of IT utilization in the cloud era.

What is PaaS?

PaaS (Platform as a Service) is a platform provided as a service. Users can use PaaS as a platform to do various things without having to build or operate it themselves.
Typically, it is used as a means of developing the necessary applications on the cloud, such as using PaaS provided as a service via the Internet and developing and using applications that run on it.

Confusing "PaaS"

PaaS can be a little difficult to understand. It means a platform provided as a service, but it can be hard to imagine what it is, for example, because you may understand SaaS and IaaS but not understand the difference between them.

Cloud (aaS) that can create SaaS

This is an expression I remember seeing often when the term PaaS was first coined.,SaaSPaaS is a service that provides applications over the Internet.teeth" SaaSIt provides an environment where users can create their own work via the Internet. That was the explanation.

For example, Gmail SaaS If so, I'd like to use something like Gmail. WebApp (SaaSPaaS is a cloud service that provides the infrastructure (platform) used when developing This is the explanation. SaaS I understand the differences and relationships between them.

Something between IaaS and SaaS

Next, let's look at the difference between PaaS and IaaS. IaaS provides the infrastructure, such as hardware, that is the means of building IT systems via the Internet, but while IaaS provides IT resources in a low-level, almost raw form, PaaS provides them in a higher-level form.

For example, an IaaS-like service provides the hardware itself or the Linux environment itself, and if you want to develop a web application, you have to set it up yourself. On the other hand, a PaaS-like service provides an environment (platform) that is pre-prepared and allows you to develop a web application simply by writing code, with various software (middleware) set up on top of that environment.

Or in AWS: IaaSbut SaaSBut not quite, something in between For example, Amazon RDS, which provides database functionality, which would traditionally be called middleware rather than infrastructure, as a cloud service, is sometimes called PaaS.

Platform providers

Up to this point, we have mainly been talking about a platform on which web application development can be carried out, but the term PaaS (Platform as a Service) itself does not refer only to a development infrastructure, but more generally to a service that provides a "platform for carrying out some activity."

For example, it could be a "platform with the necessary conditions for utilizing data in place." PaaS is a service that considers not only the development infrastructure and data infrastructure, but also what the user needs to do, what needs to be in place for that, and what the user can and cannot do on their own, and provides such a "set of something" as a "pre-established infrastructure."

From this perspective, it is easy to understand why entire services such as AWS and GCP are called PaaS.

Providing/using the platform

If you can now not only use ready-made services (SaaS) but also create your own, you will feel that your cloud utilization efforts have made great progress. Not only will you be able to prepare what your company needs as needed, but you will also be able to move from being a consumer to being a provider.

However, building something from scratch yourself is time-consuming. You need to secure highly skilled engineers, which is costly and time-consuming. As a result, some companies have tried to do it themselves but found it unsuccessful, or they have assumed from the start that they are on the cloud side. PaaS can change this situation.

PaaS provides an environment that is "prepared" and "operation will be handled by the cloud" for any level of abstraction or individual function. By utilizing PaaS, you can "create cloud services to meet your needs" and "move from the user to the creator."

From the perspective of the service provider, it is a way to offer more than just built-in functions such as web apps. Nowadays, it is recommended to not just sell but also to provide an ecosystem, an entire experience, and an entire lifecycle, and what is needed for such efforts is a platform that can realize such user activities. In other words, by providing PaaS, you can evolve the relationship between your company's services and customers into a new situation.

Utilizing PaaS

Can be adapted to suit your skills and needs

That said, you may think it's impossible to create it yourself. However, while there are PaaSthat require advanced programming skills, there arealso PaaS that allow for relatively easy use and development using "no-code" or "low-code" methods. Some PaaS also provide environments suited to specific purposes (for example, Salesforce has an environment that makes it easy to develop web applications related to sales activities).

Even if you think it will be difficult for you, by utilizing cloud services that suit your "needs" and "skill level," you will surely be able to become part of the IT creation side.

The key is to consider using "iPaaS" (connecting technology)

Another thing to note is that there are two (or more) types of PaaS.

When the term PaaS was first coined, it was further divided into "aPaaS" and "iPaaS." The "a" in "aPaaS" stands for "application," and refers to PaaS as a means of developing your own web applications. The "i" in "iPaaS" stands for "integration," and refers to PaaS as a platform for developing and operating integration functions that can "connect" various cloud services, systems, and data.

You might think it's just about connecting things. However, in a 2011 report by Gartner, a global research company, the two terms "aPaaS" and "iPaaS" were used side by side to explain PaaS. This means that about half of cloud utilization may be about "connecting." While aPaaS has since become almost unheard of, "iPaaS" is still a term that is used today.

⇒ There is a separate article about iPaaS, so please take a look at that too.

Situations where "connecting" is necessary

There are probably more things than you might think that you can't achieve by creating things from scratch when it comes to "what we want to do." Common issues, such as wanting to add something to an existing service or function, or wishing the data in Salesforce and kintone were linked, can actually be resolved simply by linking them. In many cases, you can achieve the same results as if you had created something by simply "connecting" it, without having to create it yourself.

Your company needs an IT infrastructure that is tailored to your business circumstances, existing IT resources, and IT skill status. Naturally, you may need to create something that doesn't exist to suit your company's circumstances, but it's also important to "integrate as a whole" the various things that your company uses, such as the numerous IT systems, cloud services, and wide variety of data.

Furthermore, collaboration and interoperability with other companies' IT systems is required, and the current challenge of doing things with other companies usingIT, such as combining one's own data with data held by other companies, is a need where "connection" is the main focus.

Related keywords (for further understanding)

  • SaaS
    • When people generally think of "cloud," they are referring to an initiative to provide software usage as a service, and it is sometimes confused with PaaS.
  • IaaS
    • This refers to an initiative to provide hardware usage and other services as a service, and is sometimes confused with PaaS.
  • iPaaS
    • iPaaS is a cloud service that "connects" various clouds with external systems and data simply by operating on a GUI.
  • EAI
    • It is a concept of "connecting" systems by data integration, and is a means of freely connecting various data and systems. It is a concept that has been used since long before the cloud era as a way to effectively utilize IT.
  • XaaS (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, etc.) 　　
    • This book explains the essence of "service-oriented" services, a major change brought about by the cloud era. This is a trend that will change not only IT but the world in the future.
  • API
    • An API (Web API) is provided to allow cloud service functions to be used externally.

If you are interested in our "Connecting" initiative,

If you are interested, please try out our products that allow you to freely connect various data and systems, such as IT systems and the cloud, and successfully utilize IT.

The ultimate "connecting" tool: data integration software "DataSpider" and data integration platform "HULFT Square"

"DataSpider," data integration tool developed and sold by our company, is a "connecting" tool with a long history of success. "HULFT Square," a data integration platform, is a "connecting" cloud service developed using DataSpider technology.

Another feature is that development can be done using only the GUI (no code) without writing code like in regular programming, so business staff who have a good understanding of their company's business can take the initiative to use it.

Try outDataSpider/ HULFT Square 's "connecting" technology:

There are many simple collaboration tools on the market, but this tool can be used with just a GUI and is easy enough for even non-programmers to use, while still providing "high development productivity" and "full-fledged performance that can serve as the foundation for business (professional use)."

It can smoothly solve the problem of "connecting disparate systems and data" that hinders successful IT utilization. We offer a free trial version and online seminars where you can try it out for free, so we hope you will give it a try.


Why not try a PoC to see if HULFT Squarecan transform your business?

Why not try verifying how "connecting" can be utilized in your business, the feasibility of solving problems using data integration, and the benefits that can be obtained?

  • I want to automate data integration with SaaS, but I want to confirm the feasibility of doing so.
  • We want to move forward with data utilization, but we have issues with system integration
  • I want to consider data integration platform to achieve DX.

Glossary Column List

Alphanumeric characters and symbols

A row

Ka row

Sa row

Ta row

Na row

Ha row

Ma row

Ya row

Ra row

Wa row

»Data Utilization Column List

Recommended Content

Related Content

Return to column list