If a cloud customer wants a fully-operational environment with very little maintenance or administration necessary, which cloud service model would probably be best?

The best choice for a cloud customer seeking a fully-operational environment with minimal maintenance or administration is Software as a Service (SaaS). This model provides complete software solutions that are hosted and managed by the service provider, allowing users to access applications via the internet without the burden of maintaining the underlying infrastructure or application updates.

In the SaaS model, the provider handles everything, including servers, storage, networking, and application management, which means the customer can focus solely on using the software for their business needs. This model significantly reduces the need for IT resources from the customer’s side.

In contrast, the other cloud service models like Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) require more involvement from the customer. IaaS offers virtualized computing resources over the internet, giving users control over the operating systems and applications, which entails more administration and maintenance on the customer’s part. PaaS provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications without dealing with the complexity of building and maintaining the underlying infrastructure, yet it still requires some level of management of the applications themselves.

Therefore, SaaS is the optimal choice for those seeking a low-maintenance solution.