* [Topics](/en/topics "Topics") * [Cloud services](/en/topics/cloud-computing "Cloud services") * What are cloud services? What are cloud services? ======================== Published March 14, 2022•*3*-minute read Copy URL Jump to section --------------- OverviewWhat are examples of cloud services?How does it work?Cloud infrastructureCloud platformsCloud softwareWhy Red Hat? Overview -------- Cloud services are infrastructure, platforms, or software that are hosted by third-party providers and made available to users through the internet. Cloud services facilitate the flow of user data from front-end clients (e.g., users’ servers, tablets, desktops, laptops—anything on the users’ ends), through the internet, to the provider’s systems, and back. Cloud services promote the building of [cloud-native applications](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps) and the flexibility of working in the cloud. Users can access cloud services with nothing more than a computer, operating system, and internet connectivity. What are examples of cloud services? ------------------------------------ All [infrastructure](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-it-infrastructure), platforms, software, or technologies that users access through the internet without requiring additional software downloads can be considered [cloud computing](/en/topics/cloud-computing) services—including the following as-a-Service solutions. [Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-iaas) provides users with compute, networking, and storage resources. [Platforms-as-a-Service (PaaS)](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-paas) provides users with a platform on which applications can run, as well as all the IT infrastructure required for it to run. [Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-saas) provides users with—essentially—a [cloud application](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-are-cloud-applications), the platform on which it runs, and the platform’s underlying infrastructure. [Function-as-a-Service (FaaS)](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-is-faas), an [event-driven](/en/topics/integration/what-is-event-driven-architecture) execution model, lets developers build, run, and [manage](/en/topics/management) app packages as functions without maintaining the infrastructure. Clouds are IT environments that abstract, pool, and share scalable resources across a network. Clouds enable cloud computing, which is the act of running workloads within a cloud environment. Clouds are a type of PaaS, because hardware and an application software platform is provided by another party. Red Hat resources ----------------- [Keep reading](/en/resources "Keep reading") How do cloud services work? --------------------------- Like all other IT solutions, cloud services rely on hardware and software. However, unlike traditional hardware and software solutions, users don’t need anything other than a computer, network connection, and [operating system](/en/topics/linux/linux-for-cloud-computing) to access cloud services. Cloud infrastructure -------------------- When supplying users with a [cloud infrastructure](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-cloud-infrastructure), cloud services providers detach computing capabilities from hardware components, such as separating: * Processing power from central processing units (CPUs) * Active memory from random access memory (RAM) chips * Graphics processing from the graphics processing units (GPUs) * Data storage availability from datacenters or hard drives This abstraction is typically accomplished through [virtualization](/en/topics/virtualization) and [virtual machines](/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-a-virtual-machine). Once separated, the storage, compute, and networking components are provided to users through the internet as infrastructure—or IaaS. This kind of cloud service has led to the rise of [cloud storage](/en/topics/data-storage/what-is-cloud-storage), which stores [big data](/en/topics/big-data) as part of the [Internet of Things (IOT)](/en/topics/internet-of-things/what-is-iot). [RackSpace](/en/success-stories/rackspace) is an example of an IaaS provider. Cloud platforms --------------- Cloud service providers can also use their hardware resources to create cloud platforms, which are online environments where users can develop code or run apps. Building a cloud platform requires more than just abstracting a computer’s capabilities from its hardware components—like when providing cloud infrastructure. Providing a cloud platform requires additional levels of development to incorporate technologies like [containerization](/en/topics/containers), orchestration, [application programming interfaces (APIs)](/en/topics/api), routing, security, management, and [automation](/en/topics/automation). User experience design (UX) is also an important consideration in order to create a navigable online experience. Cloud platforms are a type of PaaS. And if the infrastructural components holding up the PaaS are highly scalable and sharable, it might be considered a cloud. The best examples of PaaS clouds include public clouds and managed private clouds. #### Public cloud providers Public cloud providers abstract their own infrastructure, platforms, or apps from hardware they own; pool them into [data lakes](/en/topics/data-storage/what-is-a-data-lake); and share them with many tenants. They can also offer public cloud services, like [API management](/en/topics/api/what-is-api-management), cloud-based operating systems, or libraries of development templates known as frameworks. Some popular public clouds include Alibaba Cloud, [Microsoft Azure](/en/partners/microsoft), [Google Cloud](/en/partners/google), [Amazon Web Services (AWS)](/en/partners/aws), and IBM Cloud. #### Managed private clouds Also known as managed cloud providers, private cloud providers serve customers a private cloud that's deployed, configured, and managed by someone other than the customer. It's a cloud delivery option that helps enterprises or small businesses with understaffed or underskilled IT teams provide better private cloud services and infrastructure to users. Cloud software -------------- The final widely accepted cloud service that providers can offer is a full web application—known as cloud software or SaaS. This requires the highest development investment because the cloud provider is literally offering an online app to customers. Cloud software can be provided using a [cloud-native](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps) approach, which is an [application architecture](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-is-an-application-architecture) combining small, independent, and loosely coupled [microservices](/en/topics/microservices). Multiple microservices can be packaged into individual [Linux®](/en/topics/linux) containers managed by a [container orchestration](/en/topics/containers/what-is-container-orchestration) engine like [Kubernetes](/en/topics/containers/what-is-kubernetes) or [Red Hat® OpenShift®](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift). The final product is a cloud app that can be optimized by the microservice without impacting other microservices that—together—make up the whole app. Why choose Red Hat for cloud services? -------------------------------------- Red Hat cloud services include hosted and managed platform, application, and data services that accelerate time to value and reduce the operational cost and complexity of delivering cloud-native applications. The core of Red Hat cloud services are [Red Hat OpenShift's cloud services editions](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/openshift-cloud-services), available as turnkey application platforms from major cloud providers. Organizations can confidently build and scale applications with a streamlined experience across services and hybrid cloud environments while Red Hat manages the rest. [Explore Red Hat Cloud Services](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/cloud-services) What's new, what's next in Red Hat OpenShift -------------------------------------------- Find out more about the latest features for Red Hat OpenShift and what's next on the product roadmap. [Keep reading](/en/whats-new-red-hat-openshift "What's new, what's next in Red Hat OpenShift") All Red Hat product trials -------------------------- Our no-cost product trials help you gain hands-on experience, prepare for a certification, or assess if a product is right for your organization. [Keep reading](/en/products/trials "All Red Hat product trials") Keep reading ------------ ### What is PaaS? Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) is a form of cloud computing where the hardware and software platform is provided by a third party. [Read the article](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-paas "article | What is PaaS?") ### What is IaaS? Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) is a form of cloud computing in which infrastructure services are provided to the user through a cloud. [Read the article](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-iaas "article | What is IaaS?") ### IaaS vs. PaaS vs. SaaS “As-a-service” generally means a cloud computing service that is provided by a third party. [Read the article](/en/topics/cloud-computing/iaas-vs-paas-vs-saas "article | IaaS vs. PaaS vs. SaaS") Cloud services resources ------------------------ ### Related content * E-book [The State of Kubernetes fleet management 2026](/en/resources/state-of-kubernetes-fleet-management-ebook) * Blog post [Turning complexity into confidence with Red Hat Technical Supportability Review with AI](/en/blog/turning-complexity-confidence-red-hat-technical-supportability-review-ai) * Blog post [Bringing new levels of security to the cloud-native frontier: Unified posture management and real-time protection](/en/blog/bringing-new-levels-security-cloud-native-frontier-unified-posture-management-and-real-time-protection) * Blog post [What’s in store for Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated on Google Cloud at Red Hat Summit](/en/blog/whats-store-red-hat-openshift-dedicated-google-cloud-red-hat-summit) ### Related articles * [IaaS vs. PaaS vs. SaaS](/en/topics/cloud-computing/iaas-vs-paas-vs-saas) * [What is PaaS?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-paas) * [What is IaaS?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-iaas) * [What is CaaS?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-caas) * [Why run Linux on IBM Cloud](/en/topics/linux/linux-on-ibm-cloud) * [What is committed spend?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/committed-spend) * [What is a cloud marketplace?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-a-cloud-marketplace) * [Kubernetes on AWS: Self-Managed vs. Managed Applications Platforms](/en/topics/containers/kubernetes-on-aws) * [What is a hyperscaler?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-a-hyperscaler) * [Why choose Red Hat for cloud services?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/why-choose-red-hat-for-cloud-services) * [What are cloud service providers?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-are-cloud-providers) * [What are Red Hat OpenShift cloud services?](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/what-are-red-hat-openshift-cloud-services) * [What are managed IT services?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-are-managed-it-services) * [What is SaaS?](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-saas) * [What is a service broker?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/service-brokers) * [What is FaaS?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-is-faas) [More about this topic](/en/topics/cloud-computing "More about this topic")