A cloud platform ( eg Platform as a service ) ( the delivery of a computing platform and\/or solution stack as a service ) facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software layers . Cloud platform services or `` Platform as a Service ( PaaS ) '' deliver a computing platform and\/or solution stack as a service , often consuming cloud infrastructure and sustaining cloud applications . It facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software layers .