PaaS

By now you have heard of SaaS (Software as a Service).  The latest buzz is PaaS (Platform as a Service).  SalesForce.com was the first well known initiator of this concept with their Force.com platform.  Developers can build applications that are pre-deployed and hosted on a common platform.  These applications can work tegether with other applications hosted on the same service and they are typically deployed in a cloud.