Which cloud service model allows customers to manage their applications while the provider manages the underlying infrastructure?

The correct answer is PaaS, which stands for Platform as a Service. In this cloud service model, customers are provided with a platform that allows them to develop, run, and manage applications without dealing with the complexities of building and maintaining the underlying infrastructure such as servers, storage, and networking components.

PaaS typically includes not only the infrastructure but also development tools, database management systems, middleware, and other services that facilitate the application lifecycle. This model supports developers by allowing them to focus on creating and deploying applications rather than managing the hardware and software resources.

Unlike IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), where customers have more control over the infrastructure and can manage everything from the operating system up to the applications, PaaS abstracts much of this management away, making it easier for businesses to develop applications quickly and efficiently. SaaS (Software as a Service), on the other hand, delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis and requires no installation or management of the underlying infrastructure by the user. CaaS (Container as a Service) is more focused on managing containerized applications and does not encapsulate the complete application development lifecycle as comprehensively as PaaS.