Platform as a Service exposes standardized run-time platforms (e.g., Java, .NET, Node.js) that sit above the individual vendor’s infrastructure. Because the application is written to the platform’s APIs—not to the underlying provider-specific hardware or VM interfaces—the same code can, in principle, be moved to any provider that supports that platform. NIST therefore notes that PaaS “can reduce the risk of proprietary lock-in.” The (ISC)² CCSP Common Body of Knowledge echoes this, listing “minimization of vendor lock-in” as a principal advantage and characteristic of PaaS offerings.

A. PaaS usually supports heterogeneous environments (multiple OSs, frameworks, DBs); homogeneity is not a defining characteristic.

B. Most commercial PaaS offerings are polyglot (Java, Python, Go, etc.); limiting to a single language is not typical.

D. PaaS scaling is predominantly automatic and policy driven; manual scaling is more associated with IaaS controls.

1. NIST SP 800-146 “Cloud Computing Synopsis and Recommendations

” §2.3

p.17–18: “PaaS… can reduce the risk of lock-in through use of open

standard platforms.”

2. (ISC)² Official Guide to the CCSP CBK

2nd ed.

Chapter 2 “Cloud Service Models

” p.58: “Advantages of PaaS include developer productivity and reduction of vendor lock-in.”

3. University of California Berkeley

EECS 201 “Cloud Computing” lecture notes

Fall 2020

Slide set 6

slide 12: “PaaS abstracts infrastructure

lowering lock-in risk if multiple providers support the same platform.”