Software Application Development In the Cloud with Windows Azure

Cloud computing has matured from buzzword to a dynamic infrastructure used today by numerous organizations. Leading analysts—including thought leaders from Gartner, Forrester, and IDC—agree that the Cloud model offers significant advantages for fast-paced start-ups, SMB's small business and enterprises alike.

Why Clouds ?

Advantages of cloud applications are:

• Incremental Scalability - Cloud environments allow users to access additional compute resources on-demand in response to increased application loads.
• Agility - as a shared resource, the cloud provides flexible, automated management to distribute the computing resources among the Cloud's users.
• Reliability and Fault-Tolerance - Cloud environments take advantage of the built-in redundancy of the large numbers of servers that make them up by enabling high levels of availability and reliability for applications that can take advantage of this.
• Service-oriented - the cloud is a natural home for service-oriented applications, which need a way to easily scale as services get incorporated into other applications
• Utility-based - users only pay for the services they use, either by subscription or transaction-based models.
• Shared - by enabling IT resources to be consolidated, multiple users share a common infrastructure, allowing costs to be more effectively managed without sacrificing the security of each user's data.
• SLA-driven - Clouds are managed dynamically based on service-level agreements that define policies like delivery parameters, costs, and other factors.
• APIs - because clouds virtualize resources as a service they must have an application programming interface (API).

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Cloud applications

Cloud applications have distinct characteristics differing from traditional applications:

• Resources – the software itself is able to provision the resources that the application needs. Applications for the cloud can be designed so that they request more resources from the cloud provider.
• Server Failure – is a given in the cloud, It's a guarantee the machines are going to fail, so Applications need to be designed in the cloud for redundancy.
• Stateless - building for the cloud requires designing stateless applications The model in the cloud is if something fails, it is killed and reincarnated. There is no concept of a local disk or registry and this is encapsulated by being a stateless app.
• Database implications – The cloud presents developers with a different perspective on databases than the standard relational model. In many cases the storage engine does not use a standard relational database. In addition the relational database concept of stored procedures, in which query logic is close to the actual data itself is no longer applicable in the cloud.
• Hybridisation – data protection laws place restrictions on where data can be stored and the concept of hybrid models is often required where application data is stored in a combination of on-premise and cloud.

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New thinking

All of these issues means that building for the Cloud requires new thinking about the system architecture and an emphasis on leveraging scale. As partners with Microsoft, Dunstan Thomas advocate Windows Azure as the Cloud platform of choice. The Windows Azure Platform offers a range of businesses flexibility, control, and an affordable solution for running Web-scale applications. The services reduce tedious and expensive infrastructure management and planning and are built with security and reliability in mind, along with the option of a pay-as-you-go model.

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Reap the benefits

 

• Pay as you grow – match usage needs with the option of pay-as-you-go pricing - paying for the services you use and reducing the capital costs associated with purchasing hardware and infrastructure.
• Reduce operational costs – Azure reduces the need for up-front technology purchases and by running applications in the cloud you decrease the need for maintaining on-premise infrastructure.
• Increase business efficiency and agility – by dynamically adding and subtracting capacity in real time. Azure simplifies maintaining and operating applications by providing on-demand compute and storage to host, scale, and manage web and connected applications.
• Easy developer on-ramp to the Cloud – millions of developers worldwide already use the .NET Framework and the Visual Studio development environment. Utilise those same skills to create cloud-enabled applications that can be written, tested, and deployed all from Visual Studio. Azure also supports Eclipse, Ruby, PHP, and Python.
• Enables Agile & Rapid Results – applications can be deployed to the Platform with the click of a button. Changes can be made quickly and without downtime.
• Imagine and Create New User Experiences – the Platform enables you to create web, mobile, or hybrid-applications that use the cloud with on-premises applications.
• Offers choice – the open architecture gives the choice to build web applications, applications running on connected devices, PCs, servers, or hybrid solutions offering the best of online and on-premises.
• Standards-Based Compatibility – the services platform supports industry-standard protocols, including HTTP, REST, SOAP, RSS, and AtomPub, for consuming, exposing, and integrating with third-party services.

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The experience, Dunstan Thomas as a partner

Dunstan Thomas have been developing software applications for businesses for over 25 years and together with our expertise with Windows Azure, present the perfect partner for ensuring your applications leverage the benefits presented by Cloud computing and Windows Azure. Dunstan Thomas can helps you:

• Develop a new software application to operate efficiently on the Windows Azure platform.
• Analyse the potential for an existing application to be adapted to take advantage of Windows AzureAdapt existing applications to operate on the Windows Azure platform.
• Understand the implications of data storage in the cloud and the need for hybrid solutions. With expertise in the financial services sector, Dunstan Thomas specialise in designing and building financial services applications for the Cloud. Visit "Low cost, on demand, subscription based software for Financial Services".
• Transport an existing software application into Windows Azure as a Virtual Machine (VM).

To find out more contact Dunstan Thomas on info@dthomas.co.uk, or 023 92 822254