Salesforce CRM is an example of which cloud service model?

Concept

Cloud computing is delivered through three core service models defined by how much of the technology stack the provider manages versus the customer. In Software as a Service (SaaS), the provider hosts and fully manages a ready-to-use application, and the customer simply accesses it over the internet (typically through a browser) on a subscription, with no installation, servers, or platform to maintain.

Applying it here

Salesforce CRM is a complete customer-relationship-management application that users log into and use directly through a web browser. The customer manages only their own data and configuration; Salesforce owns and runs the underlying servers, operating system, runtime, and the application code itself. Because the entire finished application is delivered as a hosted, subscription-based service, it fits the Software as a Service model.

Contrast with the other models

• Infrastructure as a Service supplies raw compute, storage, and networking (virtual machines, disks) that the customer builds on top of — it does not hand you a finished application.

• Platform as a Service supplies a development and deployment environment (runtime, databases, tools) for building your own applications — again, not a ready-made end-user app.

• A Database Management System is a category of software for storing and querying data, not a cloud service-delivery model at all.

• Since a correct offered model exists, “none of the above” does not apply.

Therefore Salesforce CRM is an example of Software as a Service (SaaS).