What is the definition of IaaS?

The definition of IaaS, which stands for Infrastructure as a Service, describes a cloud computing model that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. In this model, a cloud service provider hosts and manages the infrastructure, including servers, storage, and networking, and makes it available to customers on a pay-as-you-go basis. This allows businesses to easily scale their IT resources up or down according to demand without needing to invest in and maintain physical hardware.

IaaS is an essential part of the cloud computing framework as it enables users to deploy and manage applications without the burden of physical infrastructure management. Users are responsible for managing their operating systems, applications, and any middleware, while the provider manages the underlying physical infrastructure and virtualization.

This model is particularly beneficial for organizations looking to reduce costs, improve flexibility, and accelerate deployment times, as they can quickly provision and manage resources without needing extensive hardware setups. The other options, while they contain familiar terms, do not accurately define the IaaS model.