Which cloud model falls between SaaS and IaaS in terms of the amount of resources provided and client administration responsibility?

The correct answer is PaaS, which stands for Platform as a Service. PaaS provides a balanced approach to cloud services, occupying a middle ground between SaaS and IaaS. In this model, the cloud provider manages the underlying infrastructure, including servers, storage, and networking, while also offering a platform that includes runtime environments, development tools, and libraries necessary for application development.

Users are responsible for the applications they create and the data they manage, allowing greater control compared to the fully managed SaaS, where users only interact with software. However, users do less management of the underlying infrastructure compared to IaaS, where they have more comprehensive control over physical resources and configurations. PaaS supports developers by offering pre-built tools and services that facilitate the management of business logic and application runtime without needing to configure the underlying hardware.

This balance makes PaaS an appealing choice for businesses looking to develop applications without the burden of infrastructure management while still retaining a level of customization and control over the application environment.