Tips for Adaptive Application Development and Data Connectivity in the Cloud

Cloud computing is not only changing the data connectivity space, but also how we develop applications. So how can IT organizations ensure that applications adapt faster to changing conditions and cloud data migrations both inside and outside the business? The first step is to look further than traditional on-premise data connectivity towards a hybrid environment where data-driven applications can be deployed on premise, or on a private or public cloud. Organizations also need to adapt applications to take a more services-oriented approach. However, the questions remain: how can this be accomplished and what are the main considerations?

When Apollo 13’s lunar landing was aborted in April of 1970, NASA and the Apollo crew had to adapt the Command Module processes in order to stay alive and return safely to Earth. An oxygen tank exploded in the service module upon which the Command Module depended. Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, a shortage of potable water, and a critical need to jury-rig the carbon dioxide removal system, they were able to adapt processes, rerouting power for life support and navigation systems – and land safely on April 17^th – 43 years ago.

While that may be an extreme example of optimizing applications and processes in a life-threatening situation, what they were able to accomplish combines many different data elements, incorporates collaboration, and results in a situation-aware solution through quick adaptation. We can implement these tactics in the business world by collecting data and information from a variety of cloud data sources, business processes, cloud and enterprise applications, rule sets, social networks, active content and activities using Big Data to trigger appropriate changes and actions. Business success relies on adapting quickly based on access to as much intelligence and analytics as possible.

To that end, here’s my take on two best practices for ensuring that business applications are able to “see further”, adapt quickly, subsume fast and efficient data connectivity, and realize positive growth and better customer experiences.

Uncover mysterious “dark data” lurking in the depths of data stores for greater business intelligence through better connectivity. Dark data is much like dark matter in cosmology – we know it exists even if we can’t grasp it. Dark matter is 84% of the universe; dark data, in a sense, is everything we do. To that end, how do we “see further” into the vast amounts of data collected across a variety of data stores on-premise and in the cloud? The revelations that can be uncovered within the hidden dark data are only possible with premium high-performance connectivity to the broad range of data sources in heterogeneous environments today. Greater insights are gained by spelunking through caverns of dark data that exist through the proliferation of Cloud-based data sources.

Understand the new world (or space) environment and adapt to it. Organizations that don’t have a cloud strategy in place are missing out on a tremendous opportunity. Applications need to adapt to new environments, new APIs, and new data models to dynamically manage the flow of data and address real-time changes. Consider the International Space Station (ISS) – the most visible man-made object in the night sky – which takes humans from being explorers of space to being residents of space. The experiments are adapted to the ISS environment, while the data generated has global implications. The space station provides an ideal environment to study many aspects of humans in space, including balance, digestion, muscles and bone retention, and heart behavior. It also provides a unique window on the Earth and sun – one in which scientists can use their understanding to respond to opportunities as they arise. Like the ISS experiments, our business enterprise applications need to adapt to new environments – in this case in the Cloud. Whether applications are being deployed on-premise or in the Cloud, greater business benefit occurs when leveraging services that understand Web services and APIs used by other Cloud-based applications and data sources.

Implementing these best practices could go a long way in attaining critical business insights and in quickly and effectively adapting changes inside and outside of an application as data migrates to the cloud. Check out my next blog post during which I’ll explain the skills required to accelerate data discovery. Have questions in the meantime? Leave a comment below or ask us at @DataDirect_News!

(Image source: http://www.cosmo.org/re_res_casestudy.htm)