Sure, platform as a service is mostly aimed at software developers. But by making it easier to create specialized programs, PaaS promises more and better business applications.When I started talking about delving into platform as a service technology for this story on bMighty.com, it was easy to see why software developers liked it. It was harder to see why anyone else should care very much.

Windows convinced me. No, not Microsoft Windows, but real-life windows, the kind that let light and air into your house. It was only through software developers leveraging PaaS to create custom apps using existing components "in the cloud," that Art Window Coverings, a Cleveland-based window-treatment company, was able to get exactly the order-entry application it needed, right down to the naming of the fields. And the shop that developed the app was able to do it "fast and cheap." That simply wouldn't have been possible with a traditional software development model. James Talbot at PaaS vendor Bungee Labs explains that "PaaS enables more developers to get ideas into real applications sooner and cheaper. That leads to more choice and higher-quality applications."

It's about time. Paul McNamara, CEO of PaaS vendor Coghead, which powered the window-covering app, admits that the software industry hasn't always been good at serving vertical markets. "The window shade industry? Forget about it."

For more on how PaaS can benefit the business world, especially small and midsize companies, see What PaaS Means For Growing Companies at bMighty.com.