What does the 'PaaS' model in Azure SQL Database primarily allow?

The 'PaaS' (Platform as a Service) model in Azure SQL Database is specifically designed to allow developers and organizations to focus on application development without the complexities and responsibilities of managing the underlying database infrastructure. In this model, Microsoft takes care of the underlying hardware, operating system, virtual machines, and database software, providing a fully managed database service that automatically handles scaling, availability, backups, and updates. This enables developers to concentrate on developing applications and features rather than dealing with routine database management tasks.

In contrast, managing physical hardware is a characteristic of on-premises or IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) environments, where organizations are responsible for the servers and storage. Running virtual machines in the cloud pertains to IaaS as well, where users must also handle operating systems and applications. Directly managing network infrastructure isn’t a function of the PaaS model; instead, Azure manages the networking aspects for you. Therefore, the PaaS model's primary advantage is its ability to let users develop and deploy applications without the burden of managing the database layer itself.