What service is obtained when a company decides to outsource their servers, operating systems, applications, and support services to a cloud provider?

When a company chooses to outsource their servers, operating systems, applications, and support services to a cloud provider, they are leveraging Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). IaaS provides a fundamental level of cloud computing resources, which includes virtualized computing resources over the internet. This allows businesses to rent infrastructure like servers and storage on an as-needed basis rather than investing in physical hardware and maintaining it on-site.

By utilizing IaaS, companies can gain flexibility, scalability, and lower capital expenditure. They can quickly scale up or down based on their needs, access high-performance computing without the need for heavy initial investment, and ensure that their data is managed by specialized service providers who are responsible for maintenance, updates, and support.

The other options, while related to cloud services, focus on different aspects: Software as a Service (SaaS) encompasses ready-to-use applications delivered over the internet, Security as a Service (SECaaS) pertains solely to security measures, and Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides a platform for developers to build, deploy, and manage applications without dealing with underlying infrastructure. IaaS, however, encompasses the full range of servers, storage, and support services that the question specifies.