Once an organization decides that cloud computing is the way to go because of its superior flexibility/adaptability, cost savings, and scalability, another question is being raised: How does the increasing adoption of cloud computing technologies influence software development? Will it affect the development of Web-based and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications?
Most cloud migrations we see today are applications that have been written for physical environments and therefore do not take full advantage of the cloud. We are now dealing with a growing boom in software development for cloud computing that takes advantage of benefits but also raises issues that will open up opportunity for new software development, including:
- Web Services: Cloud IAAS platforms like the Cisco UCS offer a 40gbit fabric which allows your Web applications to communicate at very high speeds, resulting in lower latency and better performance between Web applications. I have personal experience re-engineering for this platform with impressive results.
- No offline operation mode: On the other side of the picture, since cloud is oriented towards Web and client/server, few applications offer the option of operating in the offline mode.
User Action: Cloud computing is set to be the next big thing in the software development industry. It is safe to say that, since the rise of the cloud technologies, software development has become more complex in terms of security, reliability, usability and performance and will keep the software development industry busy during this boom!
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