Which statement correctly distinguishes IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS in deployment decisions?

Which statement correctly distinguishes IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS in deployment decisions?

• A. IaaS provides fully managed applications; PaaS provides operating system; SaaS handles hardware infrastructure.
• B. IaaS provides virtualized hardware; PaaS abstracts runtime environment; SaaS delivers ready-to-use applications; differences affect control, cost, and responsibility.
• C. IaaS provides ready-to-use software; PaaS provides operating system; SaaS provides virtualization.
• D. IaaS is only for on-premises hardware; PaaS is for data storage; SaaS is for networking.

Answer: (B)

Understanding how the service models split responsibility between you and the provider is essential for deployment decisions. In IaaS you get virtualized hardware—you control the operating system, middleware, and applications, while the provider manages the physical hardware and virtualization layer. In PaaS the runtime environment is managed by the provider; you deploy code and rely on the platform for runtime services, scaling, and orchestration. In SaaS you receive ready-to-use applications hosted by the provider; you just configure and use them, with minimal ongoing management. This split directly affects control, cost, and responsibility, which is why a statement that maps IaaS to virtualized hardware, PaaS to an abstracted runtime, and SaaS to ready-to-use applications is the best fit. Descriptions that treat IaaS as fully managed applications or that say PaaS is just an operating system misstate who handles what and oversimplify the layers.

Understanding how the service models split responsibility between you and the provider is essential for deployment decisions. In IaaS you get virtualized hardware—you control the operating system, middleware, and applications, while the provider manages the physical hardware and virtualization layer. In PaaS the runtime environment is managed by the provider; you deploy code and rely on the platform for runtime services, scaling, and orchestration. In SaaS you receive ready-to-use applications hosted by the provider; you just configure and use them, with minimal ongoing management. This split directly affects control, cost, and responsibility, which is why a statement that maps IaaS to virtualized hardware, PaaS to an abstracted runtime, and SaaS to ready-to-use applications is the best fit. Descriptions that treat IaaS as fully managed applications or that say PaaS is just an operating system misstate who handles what and oversimplify the layers.