What is the secret sauce that differentiates a technologically modern application from a legacy one? Here are some key technologies and techniques that make all the difference.

1. Containerization

Containers are self-contained sub-units of an application that enable separating the application from its environment. This, in turn, allows easy and consistent deployment of the application, regardless of the deployment platform, operating system, and infrastructure.

These containers can then be managed and orchestrated using tools like Kubernetes, which improves reliability and DevOps efficiency. This is taken a step further by Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) – a managed service for the management of Kubernetes. It streamlines the management and orchestration of containers in container-based application development through easy cluster creation, load balancing, auto-scaling, and more.

2. Microservices

Microservice architecture is an approach to application development where the application is structured as a collection of loosely coupled services. These individual services are designed to be independently deployable, easy to test and maintain, and organized logically by function.

Through a microservice architecture, it is possible to develop complex apps that are still fast and reliable in development and deployment. This approach to application development is ideal for continuous delivery processes since smaller, independent components of the application can be built or modified and deployed without affecting the application as a whole.

Microservices architecture plays well with cloud-based applications, serverless development, and container-based deployment.

3. APIs

An API, or Application Programming Interface, is an interface that enables communication between applications. It defines the type and mode of communication and plays an enormous role in extending the scope and reach of applications. Today’s modern APIs abide by specific standards – HTTP and REST, making them more universally accessible and understandable.

On an organization’s journey to the cloud, following an API-first approach can simplify the application development process. This is because defining the interfaces and communication points of an application addresses many issues associated with a code-first approach – especially in terms of business logic.

At CloudNow, we specialise in building cutting-edge applications that put our clients’ business outcomes front and centre. Talk to us today to see how we can partner with you on your next application development project.