Engineering in the Cloud

So you’ve made the decision to dive into “the cloud” head first. One question: Why? Don’t misinterpret our curiosity: there are many benefits to using cloud technology over more traditional hosting methods. However, it’s important to remember that “the cloud” isn’t all magic behind the curtain, and great caution must be taken when making new operating and engineering plans.

It’s a common mis-conception that cloud computing is powered by newly discovered technologies, but the basics have existed for quite some time.  All implementations, whether public or private, are vulnerable to stability problems and bottlenecks. Like any other data center, system resources are prone to failure, and technicians still handle hardware installation and troubleshooting. In fact, most clouds are built on top of commodity hardware, which is likely subject to higher failure rates and diminished fault-tolerance. In developing a cloud architecture plan, it’s important to balance the benefits of cost savings with risk tolerance and an acceptance of cloud limitations.

We’re not trying to dissuade anyone from using cloud technology, especially with a hybrid or properly implemented private model. Utilizing the public cloud is a great way to save time and money, especially for a young start-up. Running a data-center is hard work, and traditional shared hosting can only handle so much traffic before bottlenecks begin to become apparent.  Properly-utilized cloud technology can help engineers focus almost entirely on developing their product, and worry less about infrastructure, back-end operations, and support.

Have you decided whether cloud technology is right for you?  Have you calculated the amount of money and time you’ll potentially save? Let Bitlancer help guide you down the right infrastructure path with our FREE cloud guide.