Hello Joshua
PaaS is a set of tools used to help build and deploy customized software applications that run in the cloud. When a company wants to develop an app, or a web platform, or a software package, it is able to use a PaaS platform that will automate many of the previously manual steps. PaaS allows you to take components or preconfigured building blocks (often in a GUI environment) and put them together to create your own application. This automation reduces the time to market dramatically as you don’t have to recreate components that already exist. The PaaS platform allows you to fully test your application, as well as deliver it to your users/customers. The benefits of using PaaS includeL
- Faster time to market
- lower cost and lower capital commitment
- multiple applications can be managed centrally and more simply
- more responsive, meaning automated deployment allows you to deploy changes faster, and automate scaling on demand
An excellent example is Google App Engine (GAE) from which you can build web and mobile applications with many preconfigured and prepackaged components. You can sandbox your applications (run them and test them in a safe and isolated environment) and then publish them. As demand increases, resources (cpu, memory, storage) are automatically and dynamically increased to compensate for what is needed. Below a certain level of resources, the GAE is free, after which you begin to pay based on the resources required.
Hopefully this will give you a clearer understanding of the usage of PaaS. I suggest you also do a web search for PaaS use cases or case studies where you can see practical real-life application scenarios.
I hope this has been helpful!
Laz