In which cloud service model is the customer required to maintain and update only the applications?

The customer is required to maintain and update only the applications in the Platform as a Service (PaaS) model. In PaaS, the cloud provider delivers a platform that includes everything needed to develop, run, and manage applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the underlying infrastructure. This allows users to focus primarily on the development of applications and managing their execution, while the provider takes care of the operating systems, storage, servers, and networking.

This model abstracts much of the infrastructure management, enabling developers to concentrate on writing code and deploying applications. Therefore, the customer’s responsibility is limited to managing the applications they build, which includes updates and maintenance. This contrasts with other service models, where the user may have to handle infrastructure, middleware, and even some runtime environments. With PaaS, the emphasis is on simplifying application management.