Getting the most from your cloud applications

Cloud applications are often discussed in the context of how businesses are adapting the way their software is provisioned to users. However, nowadays most on-demand applications are provided by organisations to external users, including consumers, third-party partners, and their own staff working remotely.

Richard Vester, Director of Cloud Services at EOH, says cloud applications aim to speed up processes and sales cycles, as well as extend geographic reach. However, these benefits will only be gained if the applications perform well and have a high percentage of uptime - ideally 100% in many cases. He adds that building and optimising a cloud application environment that responds to demands in real-time is a major challenge faced by businesses today, bearing in mind the ebbs and flows in typical requirements.

Everyone understands that maintaining consistently high-performing applications is vital to the success of the business, he says. "But, and there's a big but, ensuring this is the case with the myriad contributing factors to poor performance is a massive challenge. Testing the performance of cloud applications before they go live isn't always reliable, as testing and development environments are not the same as the reality. They are isolated, and although workloads can be simulated to a certain extent, they cannot reliably test real-world network connections that users make use of, such as mobile ones."

Although there is a place for initial performance testing, he says, only the actual user experience will reveal the actual usability, and this needs to be monitored in real-time, once the app has gone live. "This is because of the dips and spikes in demand that can change instantly, and because it isn't realistic to predict all possible scenarios before the app is deployed."

This is why the first step to ensuring your apps are working as well as they should be is collecting data through real-time monitoring of the live app. "There are several different analytical tools available to businesses to use alongside their existing cloud services. Many of the major cloud providers now offer performance monitoring resources, and tools that collect data to report on how applications are performing. However, it isn't always easy to choose from the myriad offerings out there, particularly for businesses who aren't cloud experts in their own right."

Vester advises organisations to work with their cloud service providers to help choose the best solution for the business, and get the insight required to optimise systems and understand cloud application performance. Over and above using monitoring tools, businesses need to make sure the underlying infrastructure they are using, specifically the network, is properly designed, configured and positioned to support cloud applications, he adds.

"There are many components to the network that can affect cloud application performance, including WAN traffic and available bandwidth. Failure to ensure these elements are properly designed to support cloud applications could result in bottlenecks and delays, and therefore poor user experience. It is vital to remember that the network is core to the movement of all information in and out of the cloud, and to connecting all users to the cloud itself. Because of this, remember that bandwidth-heavy applications will perform poorly if the network infrastructure is not suitable."

Vester says that, ultimately, a comprehensive approach to IT management will enable companies to maximise their cloud application performance, and that optimisation is essential to ensuring all applications run according to user expectations.