Cloud Providers
In the modern day, it's significantly easier to host your applications on another hosting provider than it is to run your own servers. Companies that provide remote hosting of your assets are called cloud providers.
Example Providers
The leading names in the cloud hosting space are also big names in computing in general, often called the "Big 3" of cloud providers:
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
There are also smaller providers that make things easier and sometimes build on existing providers. Namely:
- Netlify
- Heroku
- Linode
- DigitalOcean
Types of hosting
There are two notable types of hosting models: one where you manage a virtual server, and another where they manage the runtime based on your code and configuration.
| Name | Description | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) | They host the physical hardware and let you maintain the operating system and everything that goes with it. | Great for greater control over your environment, but often more time-consuming. |
| PaaS (Platform as a Service) | They host both the physical hardware, and they also manage the software that is used to run your application. | Great for when you want to move fast and focus on the product. |
You may also hear of a similar term called SaaS (Software as a Service), which to not be confused with hosting models is rather about selling and licensing software to consumers inside a subscription pricing model. Netflix is an example of a SaaS product, where the company provides software to consumers to view movies and TV shows on a subscription.