Dive into the future with Cloud Native Applications

Cloud native is a software approach of building, deploying, and managing modern applications in cloud computing environments. In order to meet changing demands of the clients, enterprises need to build applications that are highly scalable, flexible, and resilient. To do so, the use of modern tools and techniques that inherently support application development on cloud infrastructure is essential. These cloud-native technologies support fast and frequent changes to applications with improved security, adaptability and scalability and enhanced client experiences, providing the enterprises with an innovative competitive advantage.

To better understand Cloud-native applications, let's explore the history of how this modern approach of building software was developed.

Major Trend of “Migration to the Cloud”

The cloud is the Internet. More specifically, it is all of the things you can access remotely over the Internet. When something is in the cloud, it means it is stored on Internet servers instead of your computer's hard drive. Given the current situation, the transition from legacy software and migrating to cloud are logical steps. It becomes a must-have step for business continuity and an investment that pays off pretty soon for most enterprises. From data storage and databases to servers and networking software, it is an inexpensive and invaluable tool. Zippia Research on Cloud adoption statistics shows that 94% of enterprises use cloud services and in 2020 alone, 61% of businesses migrated their workloads to the cloud.

Adoption of Microservices Architecture

With the rise of cloud migration and the increasing demand for agile software development methodologies, the adoption of Microservices Architecture gained popularity in the early 2010s.

The origins of microservices can be traced back to the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) approach, which focused on decomposing large, monolithic systems into smaller, modular services. However, SOA had limitations in terms of flexibility, scalability, and ease of development and deployment. Microservices architecture is a refinement of the SOA approach that emphasises the creation of small, independent services that are loosely coupled and can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently. Microservices architecture is mainly used in cloud-native applications as it is particularly well-suited to cloud-native applications which makes it easier to build and manage applications that can take advantage of the flexibility and scalability of cloud computing environments.

Emergence of Cloud-Native Applications

As mentioned, Cloud-native application development is an approach to building, running, and improving apps based on well-known techniques and technologies for cloud computing. If an app is "cloud-native," it’s specifically designed to provide a consistent development and automated management experience across private, public, and hybrid clouds. By leveraging the inherent scalability, agility, and cost-effectiveness of cloud computing, cloud native apps are more scalable, easier to deploy, and more cost-effective than traditional apps. A study by Gartner found that by 2025, cloud native platforms will serve as the foundation for more than 95% of new digital initiatives. This shift is happening in a big way, and is happening fast.

Differences between Cloud-Native vs Cloud-Enabled vs Cloud-Based

Cloud-enabled applications are traditional software applications that have been modified or enhanced to take advantage of the cloud computing environment. Cloud-based applications are applications that are designed and developed to run entirely in the cloud. However, they require tweaks as services expand and downtime while upgrades occur. These applications do not have the flexibility, resiliency, or scalability of its cloud-native counterpart and still rely on internal hardware for certain operations and do not offer horizontal scalability. This is because these applications retain their monolithic structure even though they have moved to the cloud.

For Cloud-native, the term cloud native refers to an application that was fully designed to reside in the cloud from the start and optimise the use of modern cloud computing architecture. This makes Cloud-native applications to be scalable, flexible, and upgraded without service interruptions.

3 Key Benefits of Cloud-Native Applications for you

The key benefits cloud-native applications are improved security, adaptability and scalability and enhanced client experiences.

1. Improved Security due Containerisation

Cloud-native applications are “secure by design”, which means that security measures are applied while the application is being developed. The apps are also built from smaller, separately secured services, and are typically deployed using container-based deployment techniques for microservices architecture. Due to containerisation, each application component lives within its own container, which minimises the amount of software running in any given container, reducing the attack surface for hackers.

For Law Firms, with containerisation, each component is segmented and has access to the resources it needs to function. This reduces the attack surface and makes it harder for malicious hackers to gain access to your clients’ sensitive data.

2. Adaptability and Scalability due to the Use of Kubernetes

Cloud-native applications bring along agile deployment practices like DevOps and Continuous Delivery (CD). Some of the popular container orchestration platforms used for deploying cloud-native applications are Kubernetes, Docker, and Apache Mesos. Kubernetes has become a popular choice among developers and organisations for its robust feature set, flexibility, and scalability.

For Law Firms, scalability and flexibility of cloud-native applications allow your firm to introduce improvements in real-time and help you keep up with the changing needs of your clients as you can make necessary adjustments without service interruptions.

3. Enhanced Client Experiences

End-to-end, cloud-specific development ensures a seamless connection between apps and a smooth user experience. Cloud-native applications allow IT and development teams to iterate more quickly, and customer service teams to provide faster, more agile service. Instead of waiting on slow loading speeds, the cloud is always ready to use and fast to load. In addition, cloud-native development places the clients at the centre with feedback tools and efficient deployment of new features.

Development teams from cloud-native platforms are typically able to respond to client feedback more quickly, and roll out fixes and updates within a shorter time period. Law Firms that leverage cloud-native solutions no longer have to wait for a long time to have their issues fixed, thus enhancing their experience.