Question

Difficulty: MediumCloud Service Models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS)

An architectural firm wants to deploy an off-the-shelf project management and invoicing application for its field staff. The firm requires a solution where the cloud provider manages all underlying hardware, operating system updates, database middleware, and application software maintenance, leaving the internal IT staff responsible only for user account provisioning and data access configuration. Which cloud service model best meets these requirements?

  1. Software as a Service (SaaS)Answer
  2. B
    Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
  3. C
    Platform as a Service (PaaS)
  4. D
    Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS) is the cloud service model where the cloud vendor manages the hardware, operating system, middleware, and application software.
Software as a Service (SaaS) provides fully hosted and maintained applications accessible over the network. The vendor maintains the hardware, operating system, software patches, and application binaries, leaving the client responsible solely for managing user permissions and client data.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the customer's management responsibilities specified in the scenario.
The internal IT team is only responsible for user access administration and provisioning, not for managing software updates or underlying infrastructure.
Identifying the division of responsibility defines the shared responsibility boundary for cloud models.
2
Evaluate the vendor's responsibilities specified in the scenario.
The provider maintains everything from the physical hardware and operating system to the database middleware and the application software code.
Full vendor control over the entire stack up to the application layer is characteristic of turnkey cloud applications.
3
Match the requirement profile to the standard cloud service model.
Software as a Service delivers a ready-to-use application with minimal consumer maintenance obligations.
SaaS abstracts all infrastructure and software maintenance away from the end user.

Key Concept

Cloud Service Models and the Shared Responsibility Boundary
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