The cloud fundamentally transforms how we build and run applications, from cloud-native to cloud-based to cloud-enabled.
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Many cloud-prefixed terms have popped up since cloud computing gained traction. The cloud fundamentally transforms how we build and run applications. From cloud-native to cloud-based to cloud-enabled, many terms have emerged to describe the nuanced design and architectural differences we have adopted to make our software applications better suited for cloud environments.
However, what do these terms mean, and how exactly are they different? Find out in our latest blog in which we define and compare cloud-native and cloud-based approaches. We also discuss use cases in which one approach might be better than the other.
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The cloud is basically data center infrastructure hosted and managed by cloud service providers (CSPs). Companies can access that infrastructure remotely over a network connection on an on-demand basis. This is known as cloud computing. The concept had been around since the 2000s, but it became almost a business imperative by the tail end of the last decade.
With cloud adoption ranking high in business priorities, organizations had to adapt their application development practices and architectures to fit abstract and dynamic cloud environments. Some built applications from the ground up so they could better utilize the cloud, while others only slightly refactored their applications so they could at least run in the cloud.
These various approaches organizations adopted to ensure the relevance and compatibility of their existing and future applications with the cloud have led to the proliferation of terms like cloud-native and cloud-based. At the end of the day, they simply highlight the different design and architectural choices and technologies that power software applications and determine their compatibility and level of integration with cloud platforms, services, and technologies. Essentially, it’s the difference between “built for” and “adapted to.”
Cloud-native means born in the cloud. It’s an approach to designing and building software and applications using cloud’s governing principles and technologies, like containerization, resource abstraction, and automation. Cloud-native applications are purpose-built—intentfully designed from the ground up to fully benefit from the cloud’s flexibility, elasticity, and scalability.
According to Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), a non-profit foundation dedicated to advancing and promoting cloud-native technologies: Cloud native technologies empower organizations to build and run scalable applications in modern, dynamic environments such as public, private, and hybrid clouds. Containers, service meshes, microservices, immutable infrastructure, and declarative APIs exemplify this approach.
Cloud-native applications typically exhibit these characteristics:
Observable: Due to their distributed nature, cloud-native applications require observability tools for monitoring their health, performance, and behaviour.
Cloud-native applications are inherently well-suited to benefit from the cloud’s flexibility, agility, and elasticity. They can be deployed anywhere, which means teams can benefit from vertical and horizontal scalability, load balancing, and cross-regional redundancy. This results in resource efficiency and resiliency. Because of their modular architecture and compatibility with DevOps and CI/CD practices, they can help you achieve a faster time to market.
You should consider a cloud-native approach when building new projects, especially those with high scalability, agility, and resiliency demands.
Modern applications like WhatsApp, Netflix, Spotify, and Uber all use cloud-native principles like microservices, containerization, auto-scaling, and serverless computing to deliver highly-scalable, resilient, and efficient services globally.
“Cloud-based” simply refers to software hosted in the cloud. Cloud-based applications are designed to run in the cloud but may not necessarily follow modern cloud-native principles, like microservices, containers, and auto-scaling. As a result, they may retain some of the architectural characteristics of legacy and on-premise software while also utilizing cloud infrastructure and some of its services.
The cloud-based approach provides an easier, faster path to cloud adoption. You can host your applications on the cloud to cut down capital expenditure and enable remote access, without redesigning and re-building your applications from scratch. This approach essentially meets you where you are in your digital transformation journey. You can keep using your existing tech stack and infrastructure since cloud-based apps retain traditional architectures compatible with traditional IT processes and ecosystem of tools. Cloud-based apps can also integrate with legacy applications and components you may still be hosting in-house.
This approach is best suited for companies and enterprises that already have an on-premise footprint but want to gradually start adopting the cloud. They can leverage some of the cloud benefits, such as smaller CapEx, remote access, and better scalability, without going all in on a fully cloud-native ecosystem. Since cloud-based applications can be deployed on virtual machines (VMs) and dedicated servers, It’s a viable option when you need to retain some infrastructure control. Cloud-based approach also works well for predictable workloads that do not require dynamic scaling.
Microsoft Office 365 apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint were primarily designed to run on local devices, but their cloud-based versions run on Microsoft's Azure ecosystem. They use Azure’s cloud services for providing additional functionality, such as real-time, remote collaboration and automatic cloud backups. Similarly, DropBox is also a cloud-based application since it offers access to traditional file storage systems hosted on the cloud. DropBox has adopted some cloud-native features, but the overall architecture remains more inclined towards a cloud-based approach.
Cloud-native and cloud-based systems are both the same in that they are designed to run in the cloud. The primary difference is that cloud-native is deeply-integrated and fully-optimized for the cloud environment, while cloud-based remains rooted in traditional architectures and technologies.
Cloud-enabled applications typically follow a lift-and-shift approach where traditionally built, legacy applications are moved to the cloud with minimal architectural changes. Usually, this is done by adding a virtualization layer while keeping the underlying architecture unchanged.
For example, if an organization migrates its on-premises CRM system to AWS or Azure VMs without refactoring its architecture, it becomes a cloud-enabled application. It can also be considered cloud-based since it is now hosted on cloud servers—the basic definition of “cloud-based”. However, the application cannot be considered cloud-native without a major architectural shift to a modular, cloud-native architecture.
It’s common for organizations to have a mix of legacy, cloud-based, and cloud-native applications. emma cloud management platform helps you orchestrate and optimize your cloud deployments regardless of the underlying approach powering your enterprise applications and workloads. Whether you’ve built your applications to run in the cloud or later migrated them with minimal changes, emma delivers the insights you need to determine the optimal environment and platform for them and gives you the control to deploy or migrate them accordingly .
Cloud-based: emma lets you extend some of the cloud-native flexibility to your cloud-based applications as well. It’s a no-code platform, which means you can configure, deploy, and migrate applications with ease. Connect hybrid and multiple cloud environments instantly through emma’s networking backbone and consistently monitor and manage both on-premise and cloud-based applications for performance, usage, and costs.
Cloud-native: With emma, you can centrally monitor, manage, and optimize cloud-native apps and app components spread across multiple regions, cloud, and even on-premise environments. Instantly find and leverage the best cloud deals and spot instances without complex configurations. emma also provides API-based integrations for your existing DevOps tools and CI/CD pipelines and allows you to quickly create and dismantle deployment environments for faster development and innovation.
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