What does Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provide?

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. This model allows organizations to rent IT infrastructure rather than investing in physical servers and related hardware. With IaaS, users can access a range of resources, including servers, storage, networking, and the virtualization layer, all managed by a third-party provider.

The flexibility of IaaS significantly benefits businesses, as it scales according to demand and provides users with significant control over their computing resources. This means organizations can quickly provision resources for workloads, develop and test applications, and manage traffic spikes without the need to maintain physical hardware.

IaaS differs from other service models in cloud computing because it focuses on the infrastructure layer. While it may include some services related to software or application development, those aspects are generally covered more by Platform as a Service (PaaS) or Software as a Service (SaaS). Thus, the essence of IaaS lies in its provision of virtualized infrastructure, making it a foundational element in cloud computing.