Contemporary discussions about software development are accompanied by the mention of “native cloud development”, even though the term rarely receives the elaboration and specifications worthy of such a new concept. For example, native cloud development is often confused with cloud-based development, which takes place via a browser or online interface.
While native and cloud-based development share many characteristics, native development
For beginners, native cloud development refers to the development of container-based applications, dynamically orchestrated and exploiting microservice architectures according to the CNCF’s definition of native cloud development. Because native cloud applications run in containers and are dynamically orchestrated, they have many of the attributes of applications deployed in cloud-based infrastructures, such as elastic scalability and high availability.
Container orchestration structures take responsibility for attributes such as automated scalability and high availability typically associated with cloud computing. In addition, the quality of native applications based on microservices translates into modular applications that accelerate application design, development and lifecycle management.
Understanding container and orchestration frameworks
Native container applications and require developers to become familiar with containers and associated orchestration structures such as Kubernetes. The need to demonstrate mastery of Kubernetes requires developers to gain expertise with development tools that provide information about the relationships between distinct containers. In addition, developers need to master the design of micro-service-based application architectures running in Kubernetes.
The combination of a container-based deployment infrastructure, characterized by the scalability and high availability characteristics of the cloud, with microservice-based architectures that enable improved agility and speed of development. The quality of microservices in native cloud applications, for example, accelerates the delivery of application enhancements, updates and debugging. This approach thus creates a solid foundation for the implementation of continuous integration and delivery processes and the integration of DevOps into the development cycle.
Examples of native applications: native container-based applications and container functions -applications as a service. The fact that native container-based applications include both native container-based applications and service functions illustrates how the native cloud development paradigm is at the forefront of innovation related to infrastructure and cloud development.
By avoiding monolithic applications deployed on-premises, native cloud development ushers in a new application development modality. This modality is characterized by the automation of scaling and high availability at the container level, in conjunction with microservice architectures that facilitate debugging and problem resolution.
Application Lifecycle Management and, in particular, debugging of multi-container applications to perform multi-factor root cause analysis. Other challenges include the creation of an alert and monitoring infrastructure for Kubernetes-based applications that provide actionable business intelligence for application performance management. In addition, native cloud developers must learn how to effectively leverage development tools to design and develop native container applications, such as weakly coupled microservice based architectures.
While cloud-based development refers to the development of applications via a browser that designates a cloud infrastructure, native cloud development refers more specifically to application development based on containers, microservices and dynamic orchestration. Developers would do well to master the basics of native container development that leverage Web development environments and cloud-based development environments, as native container development is likely to become increasingly important in the future. As development tools that specialize in native container development are developing rapidly, developers need to pay close attention to how their IDEs and development tools add functionality to facilitate the management of loosely coupled systems.
Monolithic applications quickly become relics for legacy applications, making them difficult to update or modernize for various deployment infrastructures. However, native cloud development embodies the future of application development. It underpins the development of modern applications marked by increased portability of applications across a multitude of infrastructures due to their implementation in container-based infrastructures. Developers should expect rapid innovation in native container development tools and strive to update their skills by understanding the intersection of native development and the cloud.
Cloud Application Building
A cloud application, or cloud app, is a software program where cloud-based and local components work together. This model relies on remote servers for processing logic that is accessed through a web browser with a continual internet connection.
Cloud applications provide quick responsiveness and don’t need to permanently reside on the local device. They can function offline, but can be updated online.
While under constant control, cloud applications don’t always consume storage space on a computer or communications device. Assuming there is a reasonably fast internet connection, a well-written cloud application offers all the interactivity of a desktop application, along with the portability of a web application.
What are the benefits of our cloud apps:
- Very fast response to your business needs. Enkronos cloud applications can be updated, tested and deployed quickly, providing companies with fast time to market and agility.
- It simplifies your infrastructure. Infrastructure management can be outsourced to third-party cloud providers.
- Instant source scalability. As demand rises or falls, available capacity can be adjusted.
- API use. Third-party data sources and storage services can be accessed with an application programming interface (API). Cloud applications can be kept smaller by using APIs to hand data to applications or API-based back-end services for processing or analytics computations, with the results handed back to the cloud application.
- Gradual adoption. Refactoring legacy, on-premises applications to a cloud architecture in steps, allows components to be implemented on a gradual basis.
- Reduced costs. The size and scale of data centers run by major cloud infrastructure and service providers, along with competition among providers, has led to lower prices. Cloud-based applications can be less expensive to operate and maintain than equivalent on-premises installations.
- Improved data sharing and security. Data stored on cloud services is instantly available to authorised users. Due to their massive scale, cloud providers can hire world-class security experts and implement infrastructure security measures that typically only large enterprises can obtain.
Contact us with your cloud app idea and we can help you in realising your tool to success.
