There are so many “as-a-Service” categories and offerings these days it’s getting hard to keep track. SaaS (the easy one, but now seemingly a catch-all for everything in the cloud), PaaS, aPass, iPass, and the list goes on. And at the risk of piling on to the ‘aaS’ moniker, we at DuploCloud have best described our offering as DaaS, or DevOps-as-a-Service. What does that mean exactly? Read on for a breakdown of how we got here, as well as a compare and contrast to some other aaSes.
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
Platform-as-a-Service or “PaaS” is a computing model that leverages an internet-based cloud computing environment to provide complete application lifecycle support, from development to testing, deployment to management, and updating. PaaS vendors include all the major cloud providers as well as niche platform vendors, such as Heroku which actually run on top of AWS.
Is DuploCloud PaaS?
No. The greatest capability of the DuploCloud platform is the application infrastructure centric abstraction created on top of the cloud provider which enables the user to deploy and operate their applications without knowledge of lower level DevOps nuances. Further, unlike a PaaS such as Heroku, the platform does not get in the way of users consuming cloud services directly from the cloud provider, as in a user directly operating on constructs like S3, DynamoDB, Lambda functions, etc., while offering greater scale and unlimited flexibility.
Application Platform-as-a-Service (aPaaS)
Application Platform-as-a-Service or “aPaaS” refers to any cloud-based service that enables users to build, deploy, and run custom applications in the cloud. It combines the cloud experience of SaaS with the app development tools of IaaS. aPaaS should not be confused with PaaS, which refers to all variations of cloud-based middleware. With aPaaS, instead of installing a downloaded development tool or using a coding tool to create your application and handing it off to be deployed, you are subscribing to a service that provides all that for you. Examples include Mendix and OutSystems.
Is DuploCloud aPaaS?
No. The DuploCloud platform is focussed on infrastructure and the security tools that ensure ongoing compliance of your application.
Integration Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS)
Integration Platform-as-a-Service or “iPaaS” is a remote service offering that delivers infrastructure and middleware to manage, develop and integrate data and applications either in the public cloud or on-premises. Examples here include MuleSoft, IBM App Connect, and Informatica.
Is DuploCloud iPaaS?
No. While applications can use these tools to integrate their data across the multi-cloud universe, DuploCloud does not get in the way of this integration.
Security and Compliance Tools
Before we get back on the ‘aaS’ track, let’s take a brief look at SecOps Tools like Alert Logic, Prisma Cloud and Snyk all perform various aspects of verifying the security controls for your applications. However, they all run after your application is provisioned, pointing out the gaps in security implementation. DuploCloud provisions your application right the first time, with built-in security controls that adhere to the latest compliance standards like PCI, HIPAA, SOC 2, etc.
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There are also compliance automation solutions such as Drata, Vanta, and A-LIGN to name just a few. These solutions not only perform security control gap assessments, but also streamline the entire compliance certification process. If you provision your application with DuploCloud, you can be assured of a green light across the board on the required compliance and security controls gap assessment. And if something changes down the road, DuploCloud’s technology can automatically perform any necessary remediation for you. We also provide audit-ready reporting and a sample security white paper that you can share with your customers to avoid the dreaded vendor security questionnaire.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Software-as-a-Service or “SaaS” quite simply, is a term used to describe applications that run or are delivered remotely over the internet instead of locally in your datacenter, whether that datacenter is physically located on your property or in a colo facility like Equinox. Salesforce was one of the first that comes to mind, but of course now virtually all applications are delivered as SaaS.
Is DuploCloud SaaS?
No. While our software does run in the cloud and is therefore remote to the customer’s datacenter, it actually runs on a virtual machine in the customer’s own cloud account. While technically this does not meet the SaaS definition, it is a cloud-hosted solution and therefore provides the customer with a SaaS-like experience. If the customer desires, DuploCloud also provides a fully managed service to maintain uptime, updates and on-going support.
DevOps-as-a-Service (DaaS)
DevOps-as-a-Service or “DaaS” is a new term used to describe a software platform that automates the cloud infrastructure provisioning of a secure and compliant application. It does so by translating high-level application specifications into detailed and fully managed cloud configurations utilizing best practices around security, availability and compliance standards.
Is DuploCloud DaaS?
In a word, Yes!
About DuploCloud
DuploCloud is a software platform that essentially takes three high level inputs:
- High Level Application Architecture as we explained before.
- Compliance Standard that is required, like SOC 2, PCI, HIPAA, etc.
- Public Cloud Provider where the application will be deployed.
With the above inputs, the platform is able to automatically generate the required lower level configurations that are compliant and can be used by end users like engineers and DevOps alike. All the best practices and compliance controls are baked in. Standard functions like central logging monitoring and reporting dashboards are available out-of-the-box.
DuploCloud delivers a comprehensive no-code/low-code platform that guarantees a secure and compliant infrastructure in as little as two weeks, while automating the full DevSecOps lifecycle.
DuploCloud: DevOps-as-a-Service.
Not your typical aaS!
