Can Cloud Native Apps Become the New App Development Approach in 2019?

For some years, app development companies are ushering praise for native apps in one way or the other. Native apps are widely popular for delivering highly device and platform optimised user experience. But, the limitations of native apps in utilising the power of the web were never missed. The hybrid apps were a kind of fusion solution that many developers preferred for delivering the best of both worlds in perfect measure. Still, the limitations have been persistent. This is when we have cloud-native apps, a new rockstar in the app universe.

Cloud-apps use the cloud infrastructure to remain always accessible and usable for a whole range of use cases. They are basically named as cloud-native apps just because they are only designed to run on cloud infrastructure. For mobile app developers in India and other rising IT markets, cloud-native apps show a new horizon of promise. Some of the standout advantages of cloud-native apps include scalability, adaptability and self-healing qualities to address performance issues.

Do cloud-native apps seems to be the next big app development trend to dominate 2019 and beyond? Considering the buzz and interest it generated among developers worldwide, and such a proposition seems to be quite credible in all probabilities. To understand this, we must explain the key attributes of cloud-native apps first.

Key Features of Cloud-Native Apps

Cloud native apps peculiarly use the vast potential of data to scale, adapt and address all types of issues. They differ from traditional apps with the following features.

• Cloud-native apps typically incorporate several different data technology concepts including DevOps, Continuous delivery, containers, data lakes, and micro-services.
• Thanks to data-driven cloud-based architecture they offer an array of cost advantages and competitive benefits through performance, scalability and adaptability.
• Cloud-native apps help developers to build apps keeping business priorities in mind. They can easily migrate and distribute the app thanks to cloud power.

Native Cloud Apps Benefits

Cloud-native apps differ from traditional apps in many respects. Understanding these differences is crucial to assess the power of cloud-native apps. Let’s have a look at the critical differentiating factors and benefits.

• Predictability: In complete contrast to the traditional apps, cloud-native apps by using a data-container based infrastructure and by using automation for many actions remains highly predictable. This makes them less prone to failure and crashes while scaling up with traffic and user needs.
• Zero dependencies on OS platform: As developers can use the cloud infrastructure which remains separated from OS dependencies, cloud-native apps can be run across multiple OS platforms.
• Scalable capacity: Thanks to the inbuilt cloud infrastructure, these apps are capable of provisioning storage capacity and required ability automatically during deployment. These apps in contrast to the traditional apps do not need to worry about size and capacity as allocation and reallocation of resources happen automatically when needed.
• Collaboration for developers made easy: Cloud-native apps are supported by DevOps platform and collaboration comprising inputs from developers, processes and tools can continuously happen during development.
• Automatic healing and recovery: Cloud-native app implemented over and above Virtual Machine and hosting a whole array of micro-services is capable of making data containers available across the VM clusters. This helps not only scaling up but also facilitating recovery in case of app crashes and failure.

How to Build Cloud-Native Apps?

Cloud-native app development concentrates on the adaptive modular architecture, the absence of OS dependencies and configurable coupling of code. Moreover, thanks to the implementation of microservices different business capabilities can be incorporated within the cloud-native apps. Building cloud-native apps have different approaches. Let us explain a few of them.

DevOps: By incorporating a DevOps platform collaboration of developers and credible tools can be utilised to build highly responsive, adaptive, scalable and business specific cloud-native apps.  

Microservices: The microservice architecture is known to break down an app into small and independent components that can be configured, adjusted and used to deliver cloud-native apps for a variety of business-specific purposes in varying capacities.

APIs: API or application programming interface is nothing but a well-defined set of protocols and development tools used for building software applications. They can be used as a ready-in-hand tool and do not necessarily require prior knowledge of how they are implemented.

Data Containers: Data containers remain as a separate and segregated package while allowing developers to use them through the runtime environment. While they incorporate preferred functions they remain movable across different environments.

Critical Elements of a Cloud-Native App

Now that we have a gross idea about the benefits and development of cloud-native applications, it is time to know about the critical elements that define and constitute cloud-native apps. Let us explain them in brief.

MicroservicesArchitecture of Cloud-Native Apps Revolutionising Design

Microservice infrastructure that helps cloud-native apps with independent and configurable components played a mission-critical role to ensure optimum speed and performance and brought a revolution to app design and development. Let us see the benefits of this infrastructure.

• Microservice infrastructure simplifies deployment by providing only one executable version for a single server. Thanks to this approach for incorporating any change rebuilding the entire app is not necessary.
• Thanks to this infrastructure deconstruction of the entire app into small components are possible. This helps in reducing the challenges of integration and testing to a great extent.
• This infrastructure also allows rapidly and frequently changing one component as per the specific business needs of the respective apps. 
• This also helps to make the app more scalable by executing specific components to deal with a sudden spike in traffic.
• The microservice infrastructure also simplifies the app testing process as any change requires only validating a specific microservice, not the entire app.

Conclusion

Cloud-native apps with all its future ready and innovative approach to deal with information architecture look full of promises and possibilities to shape the app development scene in the years to come. As rapidly scalable, configurable and adaptive mobile apps are increasingly becoming the order of the day, cloud-native apps with its loosely coupled and microservice based infrastructure fit the development needs now. In 2019 and years beyond, it can emerge as the most dominant app development trend particularly for all apps that require frequent iteration and changes.