Platform-as-a-Service to debut in 2011, says Gartner

By eGov Innovation Editors | Mar 24, 2011

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CONNECTICUT -- Enterprise software vendors and large cloud specialists will introduce new platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offerings this year, making 2011 the year of PaaS, according to research firm Gartner.

The vendors are expected to deliver new or strongly expanded PaaS service offerings and cloud-enabled application infrastructure products.

"By the end of 2011, the battle for leadership in PaaS and the key PaaS segments will engulf the software industry," said Yefim Natis, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "Early consolidation of specialized PaaS offerings into PaaS suites will also be evident. New vendors will enter the market through acquisitions or in-house development. Users can expect a wave of innovation and hype. It will be harder to find a consistent message, standards or clear winning vendors."

PaaS is a common reference to the layer of cloud technology architecture that contains all application infrastructure services, which are also known as "middleware" in other contexts. It is the middle layer of the software stack "in the cloud" intermediating between the underlying system infrastructure (operating systems, networks, virtualization, storage, etc.) and overlaying application software.

The technology services that are part of a full-scope PaaS include functionality of application containers, application development tools, database management systems, integration brokers, portals, business process management and many others — all offered as a service.

Gartner believes that during the next five years, the adoption of PaaS in most midsize and large organizations will not lead to a wholesale transition to cloud computing. Instead, it will be an extension of the use patterns of on-premises application infrastructures to hybrid computing models where on-premises application infrastructures and PaaS will coexist, interoperate and integrate.