Reaching for the cloud
By Jennifer deJong
November 15, 2010 —
(Page 1 of 3)
As developers experiment with cloud application development, some new and not-so-new issues are coming up. Most of these concerns—security, reliability, data integration—are not unique to the cloud. They are important for all development projects, not just those that run on virtual servers outside company walls.
But the cloud is forcing developers to look at these issues in a new light, and to address them in the context of a new infrastructure and set of tools that are still emerging. We asked experts what cloud developers should be worrying about. Here’s a summary of the guidance they offered:
Security is No. 1
No surprise that this is a top concern that developers cite when considering cloud projects, according to Evans Data. On the cloud, it’s crucial to ensure that data and applications can be accessed only by those authorized to do so, said Colleen Smith, vice president of SaaS at development tool company Progress Software. Of course, that advice applies to virtually all applications, she said. “But access management and identity management are less of a concern for on-premise apps.”
Also key for cloud apps is making sure data is encrypted for privacy reasons, and for compliance with government regulations such as HIPAA and PCI, which mandate encryption, said Fausto Bernardini, director of cloud services enablement for IBM Global Technology Services.
Don’t reach and out and ask for data
Even the simplest cloud applications typically pass data to and from on-premise systems. “You need to exercise tight control over how this is done,” said Michael Lester, manager of product management at CA Technologies, formerly Computer Associates. “Cloud apps should never reach out and ask for data,” he said.
Instead, data should be passed back and forth using secure Web services at scheduled times. You can make that happen as often as the application requires, but it should never occur randomly, he explained.
“You have to understand the cloud platform and how it interacts with on-premise applications,” added Saugatuck Technology vice president and analyst Mike West. “That is one of the architectural challenges of the cloud.”
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