Seems like every great battle has a good guy, a bad guy, and perhaps an even uglier monster of a thing to contend with. If youÕve ever opened a new server box, and hours later found yourself at witsÕ end searching through manuals trying to figure out why the heck the thing wonÕt boot properly, youÕve faced ugly head-on. This article discusses the forces at play in the rise of Platform-as-a-Service offerings.