Failure To Launch: Five Reasons Why Your Cloud-Based App Could Fail
Right now an increasing number of developers are deploying their applications via the cloud. In fact, Gartner predicts that the world-wide public cloud services market will reach an astonishing $287 billion by 2017.
Unfortunately, many application developers are jumping head first into the cloud without realizing that there are a number of things that could go wrong. And few things are as costly —or embarrassing— to a company as an application that fails to deliver expected results to an end user. If your application can’t get the job done, end users will be quick to move onto another solution.
Below are some of the biggest reasons why cloud-based applications fail:
Slow speeds: Your application may deliver fast results under optimal network conditions. But how will it fare over an Internet connection that runs at 768Kbps with 300 ms of latency? Under these conditions, IP packets can build up and cause excessive delays in communication. Don’t let the quality of your cloud-based application depend on an end user’s connection speed. Make sure you know exactly how your software will respond in different environments to reduce latency and ensure fast data transfers.
Deceiving LAN readings: Many times, an application will perform differently in the cloud than it will over a local area network (LAN); so don’t rely on how well it performs in the LAN alone when judging its performance quality. Many times, performance issues in the cloud can be directly attributed to problems like bandwidth restrictions or hidden network issues, and can especially affect data transmissions like voice and video streams that are particularly susceptible to impaired networks.
Poor functionality: Even a lightning-fast application needs to be functional at its core. Applications that are hard to navigate, even if they are speedy, can result in user frustration and unsatisfied customers. End users need to feel like they have complete working command over an application before they trust it for use in a mission critical environment. As such, the display screen, keyboard and dialogue boxes need to be well tested and optimized to generate a smooth experience.
A lack of interoperability: Sure, your application might work on an Android platform. But suppose an end user tries to access it via iOS? To facilitate high-speed data transfers, applications need to be interoperable—meaning capable of sharing data over a variety of different software platforms or devices, regardless of its vendor. When assessing application interoperability, remember that you need to focus on more than just communications protocols. Make sure that data models and processes are capable of being shared across different operating systems as well.
Insufficient storage: Before moving an application to the cloud, you need to consider its current storage capacity, and how much will be required after migration. For example, it’s important to pinpoint how many virtual disks your files will require beforehand, and whether your cloud model supports the construction of storage tiers should you need to utilize them.
Here at IWL, we provide a full suite of cloud testing tools designed to help network administrators discover these problems before they release an application into the market. By emulating many different network conditions prior to an application launch, IWL is able to mitigate the likelihood of a customer’s application failing. Click here to read the case study of how IWL helps iBASEt identify and mitigate software performance issues.