Cloud Computing

Microsoft - Windows Azure Cloud Platform

Ever since Microsoft announced the Windows Azure platform at PDC 2008, the buzz on Cloud Computing has got more pervasive and louder. Cloud computing is part of the natural evolution of the web services ecosystem.

Till now developer tools have focused on simplifying the development of web services with significant success. Windows Azure and other emerging Cloud platforms simplify the scalability & availability issue involved in the deployment and operations of web services and application.

Indigo Architects has been an early adopter and leader is the realm of Cloud Computing. We have successfully migrated existing applications as well as developed new greenfield applications architected specifically for the Cloud.

Thoughts for Business Leaders

Beyond the buzz, cloud computing is evolving to provide tangible & measurable value to large categories of businesses today. The service on-demand model allow businesses to provision just-in-time without large budgetary allocation. The ease & scalability of operations should also reduce the cost & time to launch application. In summary, a business sponsor should expect a reduction in cost, time & risks if a cloud platform is suitable for the software application.

Thoughts for Architects

Many cloud computing platforms enforce a lot of architectural best practice that enable high scalability and ease of provisioning. Thus the use of a cloud platform will necessarily force architects to implement good design patterns. Also it almost entirely eliminates the pain of building scalability & operational stability into applications.

It helps to be aware of the web services available for integration into your application. Like software components in the 90's, commercial (and free) web services are significantly reducing the effort & time required to build services-enabled software. Ensure that you are leveraging all the available services.

Lastly, leverage tools that simplify cloud development. Tools like Visual Studio 2010 make cloud development almost seamless integrated into your local development environment and make operational deployment an insignificant part of the overall effort.

Case Study

Videopedia (DAM)

Indigo Architects has designed and developed this Cloud Base Application. Videopedia is a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system. User can Watch or Upload videos using Videopedia.

Cloud Platform for Application like Videopedia is very beneficial. Videopedia requires huge Storage Space, as user uploads videos on reqular basis. To fulfill the hunger for space, Cloud is best place, where you don't have to manage the Storage; platform providers does that for you.

Is "Cloud" Place for me?

Out of following criterias if any criteria matches your need, you can think of moving your application to cloud.

  • Applications which are very "CPU Internsives" are ideal for Cloud.
  • Cloud provides "Infinite & Reliable Storage" place.
  • "Seasonal Applications" (applications which see spike usage in specific time of year) are candidates for Cloud.
  • "Uptime" is Critial for the Application.
  • You don't want to Manage "Operations" & bear IT Infrastructure Cost.