Definition
Infrastructure as a Service IaaS provides fundamental computing resources like servers storage and networking over the internet on a pay-as-you-go basis. It offers the highest level of flexibility and management control over your IT infrastructure compared to other cloud service models. Organizations utilize IaaS to rent IT infrastructure instead of buying and managing their own physical data centers and servers. This model is crucial for businesses needing scalable and cost-effective solutions for applications and data storage. For instance a startup can quickly deploy web servers using IaaS without significant upfront hardware investment. Unlike Platform as a Service PaaS which provides a development environment IaaS delivers raw computing power. IaaS is a core concept tested on AWS certification exams and the CCSP certification.