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On-premise to Cloud - An Inflection Point for Modern Digital Transformation

Written by Rajesh Shashikant Renukdas | Apr 16, 2021 2:42:01 AM

Cloud computing has long spearheaded the internet revolution backing the idea of digital enterprise ownership less the costs of managing and scaling the infrastructure that supports it. 

Yet, one cannot deny the fact that all internet-connected apps consistently remain at the disposition of the cloud or expensive on-premise servers for tasks like offline data synchronization, data sharing among users, storage, etc. Developers, therefore, need to explicitly configure, manage, and set up services through multiple lines of code to keep the backend up and running. In cases where application features keep growing with time, the code, as well as, the release process becomes utterly complex, expensive, and time-consuming.

A seamless way for applications to leverage the potential of the cloud through a set of APIs can solve this problem without requiring intensive efforts from the development team or the high upfront cost of infrastructure. This lets the team focus on the core functionalities of the app, without worrying about resource wastage or scalability issues, as they pay only for the services that they use. In this blog, we will take a look at how cloud-managed service providers like AWS can help entrepreneurs migrate to an environment that can seamlessly build modernized, complexity-abstracted, and scalable software systems:

What is AWS?

AWS or Amazon web services is a managed cloud service provider that offers a plethora of tools, IDEs and SDKs, required to develop, deploy, and test apps on an on-demand basis. It allows for the migration of apps that rest on expensive on-premise infrastructure while also letting entrepreneurs develop apps from scratch using the latest technology stack. Since application development and migration involve a varied level of complexity, there are a few strategies custom-made for apps of all scales and complexities.  

  • Re-host: This is the “Lift and Shift” approach that lets you migrate your existing app inclusive of all features and code base with the help of an exporting tool.
  • Re-platform: Re-platform is an up-grade over “Lift and Shift” approach that leverages the architecture benefits of the cloud without changing the core architecture of the application.
  • Re-purchase: AWS Marketplace offers a range of services with a “Pay as you Use” model that lets you deploy applications that are outdated and are no longer compatible with the cloud. It follows an SOA or service-oriented architecture.
  • Retire:  This phase involves cutting off all those resources that aren’t useful for the business and building a portfolio of new resources useful in the long run. 
  • Retain: In this strategy, certain applications or services that are not yet ready for cloud migration can be retained on-premise and operated as before.

Benefits of Cloud Migration 

Simultaneous access to all Operating Systems

Unlike native apps that need to be developed specifically for iOS or Android devices, common code can be compiled into a native code for both of the operating systems through AWS features.

Saved time and costs

Extending to the cloud will help your app to leverage web-based and device-native functionalities, and enable it to interact directly with the cloud to fetch data and hence saves all the costs associated with on-premise infrastructure set up.

Seamless database integration 

For businesses, in order for their apps to run smoothly, they have to be integrated with databases. Utilizing cloud will make this data integration much easier making the entire information synced through the cloud server.

Data recovery

Cloud hosting your app lets you store everything on multiple servers with a more reliable backup. While the chances of your local servers getting damaged may be slim, it’s better to have everything stored on the cloud just in case something goes wrong. That way you’ll be covered.

APIs for storage optimization

With the use of APIs, apps can be kept smaller in size as the data is handed to the applications or API-based back-end services for processing or analytics computations and the results are handed back to the cloud application.

Conclusion

Migrating to the cloud accredits developers to effectively share data storage and computing power of the cloud with the user device to optimize performance and upgrade scalability. The swift elasticity of cloud services augments the enormous potential of smart devices and ensures an impressive and intuitive user experience while driving customer loyalty. A unified business strategy with the cloud through a collaborative partnership with a cloud application development solutions provider is, therefore, essential to gain the most from emerging technologies, and engage customers, to ascertain a competitive edge.

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