The Need for a Cloud Development Framework
Rapid adoption of cloud computing calls for a structured model which software vendors and enterprises can use to develop and evaluate offerings.
By Bruce Guptill and Mike West
Jul. 20, 2010
Saugatuck Technology's latest survey research indicates that more than half of all user firms worldwide plan on utilizing Cloud solutions for even their most core business operations within the next two to three years. And all our research points toward more powerful Cloud solutions, systems, and platforms, standing on their own as well as integrated with a wide range of traditional on-premise IT.
This rampant and accelerating use of Cloud-based IT is driving developers within ISVs, Cloud providers, system integrators, and user enterprises to explore and demand new development capabilities for Cloud-based and hybrid solutions. Unfortunately, there have been few guidelines and even fewer examples of the types and scope of development capabilities that are needed.
This article examines the need for a Cloud development framework or model to provide a starting point, building blocks, and a benchmark for comparative analysis of offerings, and presents a simple foundational model for such a framework.
Benefits of a Cloud Platform
Saugatuck's most recent interview programs with ISVs and with partners in large vendor ecosystems indicate that between 40 and 45 percent of ISVs are looking for—and experimenting with—ways to incorporate Cloud offerings and associated development into their business and technology strategies.
Most have learned that developing for the Cloud is a significant and potentially costly step. Development for the Cloud requires knowledge, technologies, resources, and a broader ecosystem of partners than most ISVs and developers are prepared to invest in themselves. Thus, providers with platforms for developing Cloud-based solutions are beginning to change the course of software development, by encouraging and enabling powerful Cloud solution development without heavy ISV investment in resources.
-
This rampant and accelerating use of Cloud-based IT is driving developers within ISVs, Cloud providers, system integrators, and user enterprises to explore and demand new development capabilities for Cloud-based and hybrid solutions. Unfortunately, there have been few guidelines and even fewer examples of the types and scope of development capabilities that are needed.
This article examines the need for a Cloud development framework or model to provide a starting point, building blocks, and a benchmark for comparative analysis of offerings, and presents a simple foundational model for such a framework.
Benefits of a Cloud Platform
Saugatuck's most recent interview programs with ISVs and with partners in large vendor ecosystems indicate that between 40 and 45 percent of ISVs are looking for—and experimenting with—ways to incorporate Cloud offerings and associated development into their business and technology strategies.
Most have learned that developing for the Cloud is a significant and potentially costly step. Development for the Cloud requires knowledge, technologies, resources, and a broader ecosystem of partners than most ISVs and developers are prepared to invest in themselves. Thus, providers with platforms for developing Cloud-based solutions are beginning to change the course of software development, by encouraging and enabling powerful Cloud solution development without heavy ISV investment in resources.
-
