The least understood feature of cloud computing, Platform as a Service (PaaS), is also the most powerful and cost effective. This concise overview shows you why organizations that properly wield PaaS can quickly gain a strong competitive advantage. You’ll learn how PaaS enables developers to pursue low cost R&D projects, lets system administrators focus on systems rather than servers, and helps architects evaluate new technology quickly and directly.

Many reliable PaaS providers are available today, including services from Amazon, Red Hat, and Google. This book offers valuable advice for technically and not-so-technically minded people who want to understand how PaaS can change the way organizations do computing.

• Get rudimentary examples of how to initiate projects with a typical PaaS provider
• Consider language selection, feature set, and general capabilities when evaluating a PaaS solution
• Automate tasks like continuous integration, unit tests, and builds
• Learn how to design applications by understanding how PaaS works under the hood
• Discover the critical difference between scaling up and scaling out
• Anticipate subtle but important differences between traditional computing and PaaS computing
• Change the way you think about security in the cloud