Last Updated on September 27, 2023 by Ossian Muscad
More businesses are adopting cloud-native platforms and moving their entire app development process to the cloud. However, this shift can prove challenging, particularly if you don’t know where to begin. This article will teach you several factors and key considerations when migrating and choosing a cloud-native platform.
Why Move to a Cloud-Native Platform?
Modern businesses seek to create highly adaptable, robust, and scalable apps that they can quickly update to meet client expectations. They accomplish this by utilizing innovative tools and methods that naturally come with a cloud-native platform- which allows quick and frequent application adjustments without affecting service delivery, providing them with a competitive advantage. Choosing to move to a cloud-native platform also means:
Faster Development
Developers use the cloud-native approach to speed up development and provide higher-quality applications. Developers create ready-to-deploy containerized applications using DevOps techniques rather than relying on particular hardware infrastructure. This enables developers to quickly respond to changes as they can update the app multiple times daily without closing it.
Cost-effective
You only incur costs for the resources used by your application. For instance, if the user volume rises only at particular times of the year, you only pay extra fees. Resources that are idle for most of the year do not need to be provisioned.
Platform Independence
The stability and dependability of the operating environment can be guaranteed by building and deploying apps in the cloud. The cloud provider also handles any hardware compatibility issues, developers don’t have to worry about creating the supporting infrastructure and can concentrate on providing value to the app.
How to Move to the Cloud Successfully?
Successful cloud migration is a difficult process that needs careful preparation and execution. Consider these four aspects to help you make a smooth transition.
- Begin by evaluating the situation at hand. Evaluating every application before deciding which ones can be migrated entirely and which require refactoring is crucial. The technique of adjusting code without affecting its functioning is known as refactoring. This usually involves changing apps for use in containers in the context of migration.
- Employ containerization. Containers can significantly enhance cloud operations, allowing teams to fully take advantage of the scalability and flexibility of the cloud. You can create apps more quickly and effectively by breaking up applications into microservices that run in containers. Employing containers also helps you avoid vendor lock-in. Since containers may operate in practically any environment, moving them across platforms and clouds is easy.
- Apply DevOps methodology. Automating repetitive operations and procedures across the software development life cycle is a critical component of DevOps. This comprises setting up the infrastructure, testing, automated build, and deployment processes.
- End-to-end monitoring. Having complete visibility of your surroundings is crucial when moving to the cloud. As a result, you can identify problems and faults early on in the migration process. While most cloud providers include monitoring tools as part of their services, occasionally, the functionality is restricted, or there are extra fees.
Criteria for an Ideal Cloud-Native Platform
Making sure you pick the right cloud-native platform is significant in a successful cloud migration. However, there is a sizable market, and many cloud providers offer a wide range of services. So, how can you choose the best cloud-native platform among them? The solution is a clear criteria that is appropriately weighted toward your particular set of needs.
Technologies
Check if the platform’s recommended technologies support your cloud goals and are compatible with your existing infrastructure. Do the cloud infrastructure, guidelines, and services the cloud-native platform offers work for your tasks and operational preferences? Estimate the re-coding or customization necessary to make your tasks compatible with their systems.
Data Governance and Security
Evaluate the cloud-native platform’s capacity to protect data in transit by encrypting data being transferred to or stored in the cloud. Additionally, sensitive volumes must be encrypted at rest to reduce exposure to unauthorized administrator access. Object storage should encrypt sensitive data using client/agent or file/folder encryption. Also, verify that user access and activities can be audited across all possible channels and clarify the security roles and obligations outlined in the contract or business policy guidelines.
Certifications & Standards
Cloud-native platforms that follow recognized guidelines and quality frameworks demonstrate dedication to industry standards and best practices. Please consider its structured processes, data management, and system status visibility. Always look for structured operations, efficient data management, and service status visibility. Furthermore, be aware of the cloud-native platform’s plan for supporting continuous compliance with these standards.
Partnerships
It is worthwhile to look into the cloud-native platform’s standing with essential vendors, their degree of accreditation, technological capabilities, and the staff’s qualifications. Do they support environments with several vendors, and if so, what are some good examples? It’s also essential to identify any service relationships and collaborations involved in delivering cloud services. For instance, SaaS providers frequently build their services on IaaS platforms, so it is essential to be clear about how and where the service is being provided.
Contracts
The service and deliverables should be clearly defined. Find out who is responsible for what aspects of the solution (delivery, setting up, administration of services, tracking, support, escalations) and how that responsibility is shared between the client and the cloud-native platform. How are service accessibility and availability managed and assured (Maintenance, incident remediation, disaster recovery, etc.)?How do these guidelines align with your needs?
Reliability & Performance
Check that the cloud-native platform you choose has established, documented, and tested procedures for handling planned and unforeseen downtime. To interact with clients during times of interruption, they should have procedures and plans that include timeliness, prioritization, and degree of severity assessments.
If a service issue occurs, be informed of the cloud-native platform’s available remedies and liability restrictions.
Migration Support and Vendor Lock-in
The portability of your cloud services to other cloud-native platforms or internal operations might be impacted by those that largely rely on specialized private components. This is particularly true when programs must be redesigned to run on a cloud-native platform. By ensuring your selected cloud-native platform uses as little proprietary technology as possible or reducing the use of services that restrict your ability to transfer or switch providers, you can reduce the risk of vendor lock-in.
How Can a Cloud-Native Platform Benefit from Low-Code?
If you’re looking for a platform combining cloud computing capabilities and the ease of rapid application development, consider DATAMYTE’s digital solutions. DATAMYTE’s low code provides the tools, infrastructure, and solutions required to create enterprise-grade apps that embrace the scalability and flexibility of cloud computing. The DataMyte Digital Clipboard is a low-code automation software with the following features.
- Rapid Application Development: DATAMYTE enables developers to develop and deploy applications without substantial coding quickly. The convenience of a drag-and-drop interface, reusable elements, and visual modeling minimizes the time and resources needed for app development.
- Scalability: Applications developed using DATAMYTE can be easily scaled to accommodate an organization’s changing demands without compromising the apps’ performance, making these apps suitable for cloud-based deployment.
- Ease of Integration: Utilize cloud-native services while seamlessly integrating with cloud service providers (such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud). Users no longer need to write custom code to link to cloud-based servers, storage, user authentication, and more.
- Security: To maintain the security of applications and data in the cloud, Our low-code platform provides built-in security features, which include user verification and authorization, log-in and audit trails, data encryption, and application auditing.
- Real-time visibility: Track cloud deployment, observe data over time and compare it to user concerns, event updates, or performance deviations. The performance of your application can be correlated with the deployments you record, monitor, and track using deployment indicators.
Schedule a FREE DEMO today!
Conclusion
When migrating their apps to a cloud-native platform, businesses must consider all the important variables. A cloud-native platform should provide robust security measures to ensure the safety and protection of your business’s sensitive data. Although moving to the cloud is essential, your chosen cloud-native platform can also help make the transition easier.
