PaaS — Platform as a Service
Definition: A cloud category where the provider supplies infrastructure plus runtimes, databases, and tooling — so developers can deploy apps without managing servers.
Example
Heroku, Vercel, and Google App Engine are PaaS. Push code, get a URL.
When you'll hear it
PaaS shows up most often in engineering planning, architecture reviews, and sprint retrospectives. When someone uses it, they're usually referring to platform as a service — and they expect the room to already know what that means.
FAQs
PaaS vs IaaS?
IaaS gives you raw servers (AWS EC2). PaaS gives you a managed runtime where you just deploy code.
What does PaaS stand for?
PaaS stands for Platform as a Service.
What does PaaS mean in technology and engineering?
A cloud category where the provider supplies infrastructure plus runtimes, databases, and tooling — so developers can deploy apps without managing servers.
Where will I hear PaaS used at work?
PaaS comes up most often in engineering planning, architecture reviews, and sprint retrospectives. It's used as shorthand for platform as a service, so people assume you already know the term.