DEV Community: CloudNow Technologies

Threats on the cloud are constantly evolving - here’s how you can safeguard your assets

CloudNow Technologies — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 05:49:54 +0000

According to a KPMG report, the five major risks in cloud computing are related to data security, technology, operations, vendors, and finance. All of these risks can result in business interruption, loss of revenue and reputation, as well as failure in regulatory compliance.

What accounts for the vulnerabilities and risks in cloud infrastructure? According to the report, these risks and vulnerabilities arise due to:

Lack of visibility into controls over initiation, authorization, recording, processing, or reporting of transactions
Unauthorized data access by a service provider and/or less control over who sees what data
Data leakage or access risks due to multi-tenancy or shared infrastructure between different organizations
Lack of flexibility over data protection mechanisms

A report by Flexera states that vulnerabilities such as hardware sprawl (many models), software sprawl (many versions), cloud sprawl (many VMs and other assets), and lifecycle management are top areas of concern for tech decision makers regarding IT assets.

It has also been reported that every day in 2021 there are at least 560,000 instances of new malware being created and detected - so keeping IT assets secure needs to be a top priority in any enterprise.

Knowing where you’re at risk and understanding how to pre-empt or counter it helps an enterprise save time, money and other valuable resources that drive your business.

Threats can be both external and internal

Malware constitutes the external threats, while vulnerabilities are the internal threats.

Vulnerabilities include sensitive data exposure, broken authentication, broken access control and so on. Once a security vulnerability is uncovered, it's important to immediately patch it; if you've found it, malicious actors could too.

Vulnerabilities can be exploited in different ways depending on the nature of the vulnerability and motives of the attacker; it could be caused by mistakes in coding, improper access privileges, unanticipated interactions of different software programs and system components.

Therefore vulnerability assessments are required to identify what can affect the systems on the network.

What are the ways to avoid vulnerabilities?

Update systems, networks, and software as soon as an update is available. Do not delay or postpone. [Conduct cybersecurity audits] (https://www.cloudnowtech.com/blog/3-steps-towards-ensuring-your-data-on-the-cloud-is-safe/) as well. IT teams should regularly re-evaluate their networks to identify new flaws in their network security.
Be wary of automatic running of "safe" scripts as these can be a risk as malware can mimic them. Many services and protocols are vulnerable to spoofing attacks, which allows users to unintentionally send the attacker information.
Make sure the authentication systems are secure and ensure minimum granular access rights: An authentication process verifies users, so they cannot access critical data stores or interact with a network’s configuration.
Ensure employees are well trained! An employee unfamiliar with cybersecurity best practices might accidentally download harmful malware by clicking on an infected link for instance.

Threats and vulnerabilities to the cloud are ever-evolving, and there are always challenges and risks associated with cloud adoption. In cloud migration, the right cloud services and technology solutions provider can make all the difference. That’s where CloudNow’s expertise in cloud-native development and security come into play. Schedule a consultation with us today!

This blog originally published at CloudNow Blog. Link to the original blog

6 Best Practices to secure your Continuous Deployment pipeline

CloudNow Technologies — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 07:29:21 +0000

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) is a fast, efficient iterative process. This means that, without a concentrated focus on security, there simply isn’t enough time to build in security checks and balances before go-live.

A traditional Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline uses a large number of tech tools. Each stage of the pipeline must be closely monitored at all times, to ensure that any irregularities are swiftly identified and addressed.

Using the right code analysis tools, it's possible to automate the process of monitoring the code used at every stage of the pipeline. This guards against the possibility of vulnerabilities potentially creeping in and giving malicious actors a way into your system.

To further secure your system, it is important to prevent misuse or improper access to key data like passwords, API, GitHub tokens, SSH keys, private certificates for secure communication, transmitting and receiving of data (TLS, SSL, and so on), private encryption keys for systems like PGP, and other application keys/credentials. Eliminate hard-coded credentials in containerized applications and minimize broad access to credentials, data and systems.

In addition to automated system security, conduct regular comprehensive audits on system and code to maintain high-level security and reduce risk of cyberattack.

Here are 6 best practices that could help you improve security in your CI/CD processes.

1. Remove hardcoded credentials from tools

With automation, storing and keeping track of these credentials is no longer the responsibility of your team. By default, some of this data is hardcoded into Jenkins, GitHub and other CI/CD tools. Remove the hardcoding from your tools before getting started, or the information could be misused.

2. Don’t concentrate data into a single location

Distribute sensitive data as much as possible across a large number of Jenkinsfiles. This reduces the potential attack value of each file.

3. Minimize access permitted to team members

Maintain highly granular access management, following the principle of ‘least privilege’. A large number of people work concurrently on each project, making access management fundamental to CI/CD security. Undertake segmentation by role, task and category to restrict access.

4. Restrict access to non-humans as well

Once a container’s machine identity is authenticated by the system, it can access multiple resources based on defined access control policy. To secure against non-human access, destroy containers and virtual machines after use.

5. Apply rigorous security parameters

Use password managers and frequently change passwords. Verify the identity of individuals accessing resources with multi-factor authentication and OTPs to restrict access to the most sensitive tools and data.

6. Safeguard credentials from excessive automation

Ensure keys and secrets are not inadvertently passed on by default, during builds for pull requests via your CI/CD pipelines.

Remember, the goal of CI/CD is not just to make communication between team members seamless and effective, but safe as well. Follow these simple steps and best practices to optimize safety, speed and quality.

CloudNow brings you a cutting-edge technology stack that enables single-click deployment, continuous integration, automated security alerts, easy code management and review, and on-premise, public, or hybrid cloud deployment. Contact us today to know more.

This blog originally published at CloudNow Blog. Link to the original blog

Is Kubernetes a DIY platform?

CloudNow Technologies — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 09:40:18 +0000

The growth of Kubernetes has been phenomenal. It’s grown from an open-source project used and promoted by a few cloud-native developers to a popular choice for automating and scaling container deployments, fuelled in greater part by the shift of application workloads to containers.

Kubernetes (also known as k8s or “kube”) is an open-source orchestration tool for containers and does not cost any money to download, set up, and run in-house. Almost tempting enough to want to set it up yourself, isn’t it? But doing it yourself – or DIY Kubernetes option – in reality, is not as simple a platform to use as you may think. Here we present two options – DIY Kubernetes and Managed Kubernetes – each with their advantages and challenges.

DIY Kubernetes

A DIY approach to Kubernetes can be taken up through a range of different distributions, including both lightweight distributions and distributions intended for full-scale production use. It can be deployed on-premises or on cloud-based infrastructure, where you would provision and manage the clusters yourself. If K8s is deployed on-prem it will be done as a “Minikube”, which is a utility used to run Kubernetes on your local machine.

But because approaches to DIY Kubernetes vary, the amount of effort that deployment requires also varies. Though Kubernetes is an open-source platform, it is not very user-friendly. Also, finding reliable platform support is difficult. If you already know Kubernetes well and have experimented with smallish clusters running in local environments, you may have the expertise to pull off a DIY installation.

But if you have a multi-cluster environment with dozens of servers or more DIY Kubernetes may not be practical. Kubernetes at an enterprise level can be complicated to deploy and that in turn may reduce productivity.

However, if your requirement is only for a small number of clusters to be deployed, the cost-benefit trade-off is often worthwhile with a DIY K8s approach.
Managed Kubernetes
Managed K8s services - which refer to the management of the K8s platform and not the application or containers being developed and hosted - allow for containerized applications to be deployed and managed in a production-grade environment more easily.

Managed Kubernetes is naturally more expensive but it is often worth it in the long run simply because most of it is automated. Also, there is the technical support that comes with more automation and support for hosting, maintenance, infrastructure configuration, and so on.

While some cloud providers offer basic levels of monitoring, there are others that offer technical support services or custom infrastructure setup, automatic provisioning of clusters, and so on, so choose your managed Kubernetes service provider according to your needs.

Security concerns too can be taken care of with managed Kubernetes and may not be possible with the DIY option. When creating clusters, enterprises need to consider aspects like resource groups, authentication and security-based policy controls, which can prove challenging if one lacks experience in setting up K8 or expertise in automating clusters or using various scripting languages like Terraform.

So on the whole, a Managed K8s approach tends to be advantageous for more complex, enterprise-grade deployments.
Is it worth doing it yourself? Ask yourself:
Is your team experienced with K8s? It is not an easy service to work with for novices.

Are you working on a lightweight or production-grade distribution?

Do you need hand-holding? Do you prefer to be able to call someone for support or are you comfortable figuring out/looking up the answers for yourself?

Kubernetes already includes an impressive set of features, including scalability, detached credential configuration, self-recovery, workload management and batch execution, and progressive application deployment, but they require significant manual configuration.

Managed solutions take care of much of this configuration for you, or at least guide you through the decision-making process.

There's a wide range of processes, tools, and value-adds that you can use while implementing managed Kubernetes services. Do consult CloudNow before getting started on your next containerized application development project.

This blog originally published at CloudNow Blog. Link to the original blog

Managed solutions take care of much of this configuration for you, or at least guide you through the decision-making process.
There's a wide range of processes, tools, and value-adds that you can use while implementing managed Kubernetes services. Do consult CloudNow before getting started on your next containerized application development project.

Is Kubernetes a DIY platform?

CloudNow Technologies — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 05:15:56 +0000

DIY Kubernetes

However, if your requirement is only for a small number of clusters to be deployed, the cost-benefit trade-off is often worthwhile with a DIY K8s approach.

Managed Kubernetes

Managed K8s services - which refer to the management of the K8s platform and not the application or containers being developed and hosted - allow for containerized applications to be deployed and managed in a production-grade environment more easily.

So on the whole, a Managed K8s approach tends to be advantageous for more complex, enterprise-grade deployments.

Is it worth doing it yourself? Ask yourself:

Is your team experienced with K8s? It is not an easy service to work with for novices.
Are you working on a lightweight or production-grade distribution?
Do you need hand-holding? Do you prefer to be able to call someone for support or are you comfortable figuring out/looking up the answers for yourself?

Managed solutions take care of much of this configuration for you, or at least guide you through the decision-making process.

This blog originally published at CloudNow Blog. Link to the original blog

Using data right: Identifying blind spots in operations using technology

CloudNow Technologies — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 06:13:14 +0000

Blind spots can occur for many reasons. When a decision maker does not have access to the full picture - due to data siloization, non-immediate access to information, or lack of interoperability between systems and departments - this can result in a blind spot, which can lead to major operation breakdowns.

Better data-sharing between teams leads to more positive outcomes. It reduces dependency on specific individuals who are experts in their spheres. Another way to reduce blind spots is through clear company-wide workflows and processes, which can be defined based on data harvested and shared.

Identifying blind spots

By definition, your team does not know where a blind spot exists. So how do you find them? Usually, a blind spot is identified when a problem occurs and root cause analysis (RCA) identifies the gap that caused the issue.

Chances are that, if your company has been in operation for a while, your team already knows the areas where problems usually arise. Let’s take a simple example. A motorcycle manufacturer is unable to match production plans because a particular part is unavailable.

First, let’s define the variables that impact this situation. These could be external (did the vendor fail to deliver? Was there a logistics and delivery issue?) or internal (was the order placed on time? was an updated production plan not communicated to procurement?). Each variable has a plethora of sub-variables. An RCA drills down until the final sub-variable, the root cause of the problem, is identified.

Blind spots are internal issues. They can be resolved by changing processes within the organization. In this context, ‘the organization’ can include trusted long-term vendor partners.

Another way to identify the root cause is to track and share real-time data pertaining to the issue. In our example, this could include parameters like actual-vs-projected production numbers, just-in-time procurement deadlines, personnel data, subjective metrics such as employee feedback, information from secondary sources, etc.

You can then use the data to identify patterns that correlate to good or bad performance. In many cases, you will find that the patterns are instantly observable. In our example, perhaps data may show that seasonal spikes in production, when correlated with the absence of a particular employee, results in delays. This could indicate a root cause of over-dependence on this employee for vendor communication in case of non-standard production plans.

Using tech to reduce blind spots and mitigate the harm they cause

Root cause analysis and identification of operational blind spots is a vast area which requires constant focus and optimization. An efficient way to resolve these issues at a company level is to take three simple steps:

Improve collaboration
Share real-time data
Define and refine algorithms

Inter-team collaboration is key to ensuring that your enterprise operations flow smoothly. The more each department acts as a silo, the less they will be able to identify inefficiencies in the system that could be easily rectified and resolved. Using collaboration and task management software, it’s possible to give managers a complete bird’s-eye-view of the process from end to end. Make data capture and recording as painless as possible, at every stage.

Once the data is captured, share the data, insights and analytics generated in real-time. Opt for pie charts, graphs and other easily readable data representations to the extent possible. By sharing the data immediately, problems can also be identified and halted early.

Define KRAs, KPIs, and weightage for each sub-variable, based on which you can create algorithms to calculate success on mitigating risks attached to each variable. Constantly study the results from these algorithms and keep refining them to ensure optimized and updated processes with minimal operational blind spots. Having technology manage operations leads to faster and more efficient Business Process Re-engineering (BPR). Once you have all the data available, it’s easy to understand the gaps in the existing process and how to plug them.

Companies looking at CMMI and other certifications can also demonstrate the effectiveness of their processes through technology. The more data is captured and analyzed on an ongoing basis, the easier it is to pass audits and claim certifications.

Operational blind spots are hidden gaps in the system. Allow data to shine a light. Do talk to our experts about how to implement a comprehensive data-based digital transformation strategy that will help you improve operational efficiency through better visibility into all aspects of your operations.

This blog originally published at CloudNow Blog. Link to the original blog

What are some alternatives to Okta?

CloudNow Technologies — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 05:35:14 +0000

In this new world of remote working and cloud enterprises, Identity and Access Management (IAM) has been thrust to the fore. It’s almost as if the economy now relies on agile and automated IAM systems to enable rapid and seamless digital transformation.

Okta is the leading player in the area of IAM, and has made major strides forward in the field by harnessing artificial intelligence, and thus going beyond merely using the password and other multi-factor authentication options.

Okta has several advantages such as its security, scalability, and simplicity. But cost-wise, Okta works better for larger enterprises and can prove to be quite expensive for smaller organizations.

Though Okta is a popular choice, that doesn’t mean it is your only option. There are several other options out there for enterprises looking to go the IAM way, each with its own advantages.

Some of these alternatives include Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS), OneLogin, and Akku for instance and we’re going to give you the lowdown on each of them.

1.Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS)

Developed by Microsoft, ADFS is a Single Sign-On (SSO) solution and is a component of Windows Server operating systems.

ADFS is preferred by many enterprises as it is perceived to be more stringent on privacy issues when compared to other tech majors; and more convenient as most enterprises use Windows Active Directory (AD) for user management already, meaning there is no environment change if you are adding on ADFS.

But like with Okta, initial costs are high, and there are hidden infrastructure and maintenance costs as well. For instance, commissioning ADFS requires a Windows Server license, which comes at a cost.

Also, ADFS tends to be complex and needs substantial technical know-how to use properly. Commissioning, configuring, and maintaining an ADFS solution is time-consuming and customer support too, though free, is not very user-friendly.

2.OneLogin

OneLogin, another market leader, brings to the table secure, one-click access, through all device types. Advantages are that OneLogin comes pre-integrated with over 4000 apps, offers multiple language options, and integrates with popular directories such as Active Directory (AD) and G Suite, thereby offering flexibility for growing businesses.

But like with Okta and ADFS, here too, pricing can be steep for smaller enterprises. It is also complex to use and though it integrates with AD, it offers limited analytics on the admin console, user support time is not ideal, and adding new apps can be tricky.

3.Akku

Akku (yes, that’s us) is an emerging player in the Asia Pacific region. While it comes with all IAM features, it has been developed specifically keeping the needs of small and medium sized businesses in mind. It is therefore ideal for teams of 10-300 people and companies looking for high ROI and responsive support.

So, if you are a smaller enterprise, a fast-growing start-up, or a business in any industry where value for money is an important consideration, Akku presents a sensible option. Another advantage here would be that it provides enterprises with complete control over data access and privacy on the cloud while staying compliant with statutory standards.

Akku isn’t a one size fits all option and because of the bespoke nature of the solution, it takes more time than Okta to purchase and set up. But once you are all set up, it is simple to use, and offers all the IAM functionalities you will need at a fraction of the cost of the other options listed here.

So, there are options out there for IAM beyond Okta. And while a strong IAM strategy is integral to productivity and security, you’ve got to choose one that fits your requirements and your budget. If you are a small or medium-sized business looking for an IAM solution, with an eye on customization, contact Akku today.

This blog originally published at Akku Blog. Link to the original blog

Digital transformation in CX: The next frontier

CloudNow Technologies — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 05:52:49 +0000

According to a report by Economic Times, 97% of the mid-size and enterprise-sized businesses in India believe customer experience (CX) innovation is required to protect their business from competitors. The same report also found that more Indian enterprises are investing in CX as a means to grow their business as compared to other countries in the Asia Pacific region.

The study also revealed that 88% of Indian organizations accelerated their CX projects over the past 12 months compared to their counterparts in South Korea (67%), Australia (65%), Singapore (62%), and Japan (37%).

So, if you want to be one step or two ahead of your competition it is important to understand how every stage of customer interaction can be enhanced by digitalization.

We’ll illustrate here just how digital transformation makes an impact at every stage of the customer experience with the case of an e-commerce retail app, though the steps are more or less common to all sectors.

First, the New Customer

As business guru Peter Drucker said, “The purpose of a business is to create a customer.” Customers demand better experiences. They demand performance, responsiveness, and consistency. Unfortunately, a lack of usable, harmonized data inevitably leads to a less than impressive customer experience. One needs to increase awareness to bring in new customers.

It is possible to harness data to create precise customer targeting options. For instance, one can improve targeting based on data gathered from existing customers, thus improving ROI on advertising. So make it a point to harness data to create more awareness of your product or service and that way bring in new customers.

Next, the Somewhat-New Customer

More than 2,000 apps are submitted to the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store daily, and the average user takes 3 seconds to decide whether they want to download your app!

That doesn’t give you much time at all. Here, the key is to use new and existing data to enhance customer experience by providing tailored content. For example, if you know that A is a woman in her 30s and B, a man in his 50s, deliver different kinds of content to each, to encourage clicks and downloads.

You can create customer personas for different kinds of people (discount seekers, brand-conscious shoppers, festive bulk buyers, etc) and push unique marketing content to new customers who match these profiles. AI-led strategies help create personalized campaigns, encourage app downloads and trials and boost customer engagement.

Then, there’s the Hooked Customer

For the customer who has already downloaded your app, comes the next stage of creating a personalized app CX.

App personalization is the process of building a mobile app to meet the needs of specific audiences, rather than a one-size-fit-all experience.

In 2018, in a report by Epsilon, to help brands better understand how personalization efforts can be used to enhance relationships with consumers, produce customer loyalty and positively impact the bottom line, it was revealed that 80% of respondents were more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences and 90% found personalization appealing.

There are several ways to personalize your app.

Use AI to capture your users’ in-app behaviors, actions, inactions, responses, and interactions to enrich your user view
Customize the app navigation experience by analyzing your customers browsing, click behavior, and consumption history
Build a solid foundation of user data and offer personalized products, offers, or content based on interests, user location, time of the day, weather, and so on
Consider an AI-powered chatbot to offer real-time responses to app visitors and make appropriate suggestions
Possibly develop a sentiment analysis tool based on customer data and product reviews, to identify pain points, trends and gaps is another way to go

Finally, the Repeat Customer

Farming repeat customers is cheaper than constantly hunting new customers. According to a study, after one purchase, a customer has a 27% chance of returning to your store, but if you can get that customer to come back and make a second and third purchase they have a 54% chance of making another purchase.

Therefore, the idea is to get customers who will continue to come back, which is another reason e-commerce companies prioritize the customer experience. Here are some strategies to increase repeat purchases.

Use data based on purchase patterns, encouraging additional sales from clients who trust the brand.
Push recommendations and suggestions at different times of the day
Make it easy for customers who already trust the brand to buy - single-click, suggestions, recommendations, discount notifications, push notifications, etc.

Remember, repeat purchases can boost revenue of investment (ROI), and ensure sustainable growth.

Digital transformation on the customer experience level requires an enterprise-wide approach, which is what we specialize in at CloudNow. Contact us today if you are looking for a holistic roadmap that puts the customer experience at the core.

This blog originally published at CloudNow Blog. Link to the original blog

Publishing your app on Google Play Store and Apple App Store

CloudNow Technologies — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 07:22:36 +0000

CloudNow recently completed the development and launch of an application on iOS and Android. We thought that we would document some of the nuances of this launch process on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, which could be useful to you during publication of your own applications.

About the application

The launched application helps to track the quality of a user’s driving. Most modern mobile phones have an in-built accelerometer and gyrometer. Our client partnered with Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), who would capture the raw data generated when the user goes from point A to point B. CMT then uses AI/ML to process the data and return it to the CMT mobile SDK, which is integrated with the app.

The app then displays driving safety information such as average speed, high speed, where you drove riskily, whether you were using your phone while driving, etc. It’s also a social platform, where family members or friends can join a common group and compare scores. Based on trip scores and 14-day aggregate scores, the app also offers training content that is sent to the user.

Play Store Review

To start publishing apps on Play Store, you need a paid Google Play publisher account. This requires a one-time payment, for any number of apps.

Automated check

The Google Play Store app submission process is not as involved as submitting an app to the Apple App Store. Google simply checks the code automatically via software to screen for malware and obvious content violations.

There is also a round of manual checks conducted by a team of reviewers to plug any gaps left by the algorithm. Even with this manual intervention, however, the review process is much faster than Apple App Store app review. It usually takes 1-7 hours to get the app approved, while Apple claims that all apps are processed within 24-48 hours.

However, even though it is a simpler process, there are some guidelines you should follow when uploading to Google, which are highlighted below.

The content essentials

Before you get started on your app submission, prepare the below content and keep it ready with you. This makes the process faster and easier.

1.Title
2.Short description
3.Full description
4.A minimum of two Screenshots
5.High-res icon (512 x 512 pixels)
6.Feature graphic (JPEG or 24-bit PNG (1024w x 500h))

This will be displayed across Google Play Store

The process

1.Application type: Select ‘Applications’
2.Category: Select the most appropriate category for your app (for example, ‘Maps & Navigation’)
3.Contact details: You need the below information:

Website
Email id
Privacy Policy

4.Price: If your app is free, set the price for the app to Free.
5.Primarily Child-Directed: Select No for this option, unless your app is primarily directed at children or teenagers.
6.Contains ads: Select No for this option, unless your app contains ads.

Apple Store Review

The process of launching your app on the App Store is considerably more complex than on the Play Store. Do consider working with a professional development agency with experience launching apps, to speed up the process and avoid rejection.

Manual checks

Since the check is manual, our app upload was more involved on the Apple App Store than on the Google Play Store. During the App Store Review, Apple scanned the app we submitted as well as the CMT Mobile SDK to detect the presence of specific APIs.

This process is not foolproof, and can sometimes be triggered even if the APIs are not present. This can prompt questions and requests for more information in the Info.plist file.

We solved this issue by setting several Info.plist values, allowing the app to pass Apple App Store review.

Info.plist property key settings

If you are targeting iOS 13 for your app, there is a property key change that affects the Info.plist file settings. In iOS 13, the NSBluetoothPeripheralUsageDescription property key was deprecated. It was replaced by NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription, which is required if your app uses the device’s Bluetooth interface.

This key enables you to add a message that tells the user why the app needs access to Bluetooth.

If your app is targeting iOS 13 and beyond, replace the NSBluetoothPeripheralUsageDescription key with NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription. If the deployment target is earlier than iOS 13, include both keys in your app’s Info.plist file.

There are over 1 billion active users on Google Play Store and 5 billion app downloads on the Apple Play Store in Q2 2020. These are the two biggest application platforms in the world, and launching your app on both is key to its success. At CloudNow, app development includes troubleshooting and launch of the app on Play Store and App Store.

We understand the technical nuances and issues that could arise during app launch on these complex tech platforms. Do get in touch with us for true end-to-end services.

This blog originally published at CloudNow Blog. Link to the original blog

Containers: How they can benefit your dev practice!

CloudNow Technologies — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 10:35:27 +0000

Over half of Fortune 100 companies have embraced the use of containers, and the numbers are growing faster than. Google, for instance, starts over two billion containers every week! In this article, we cover some of the benefits of containers, and why they are becoming so popular in DevOps.

But first, what are Containers?

Containers are executable units of software, along with their dependencies, in which application codes are packaged. Containers can be run anywhere - desktop, traditional IT, or the cloud - as they contain all necessary executables such as binary code, libraries, and configuration files; and can run anything from a small microservice to an application or even a single software process. In other words, they are “build once and run anywhere”.

Containers are independent, deployable and portable components, with significantly less overhead - when compared to traditional or hardware virtual machine environments - as they don’t include operating system images. In larger application deployments, multiple containers or container clusters can be managed by a container orchestrator like Kubernetes.

Let’s take a closer look at the biggest benefits of using containers in DevOps.

1. Faster application development

Containerization offers an efficient way of virtualizing resources. While getting hardware up and running the traditional way can take days, with containerization and its repeatable infrastructure and configuration, deployment is nearly instantaneous.

Containerization works by bundling application code together with the related dependencies, accelerating application deployment in different environments. It also supports agile/DevOps and enables easy deployment to the cloud.

While an orchestrator like Kubernetes automates a number of processes, like automated deployment, scaling and management of containerised applications. With the right Managed Services partner, Kubernetes can be configured to take advantage of existing cloud services like security and audit log features.

2. Cost-effective development

Kubernetes is an open source container orchestration platform. It’s also convenient to deploy with its auto-scaling feature whereby your managed services partner can configure the number of containers to ‘spin-up’ or ‘spin-down’ based on the load.

Containerization also makes it possible for teams to work collaboratively on different components in parallel, without getting in each other's way.

3. Ease of maintenance

When an application is containerized, it’s isolated from other apps running in the same system. When apps don’t intermix, maintenance can be more automated and targeted, increasing efficiency of the support team.

As containerization makes it easier to test and deploy, it becomes the perfect environment for CI/CD, especially useful within a cloud environment.

Containerization allows you to segment an application so you can debug or test without taking down the entire app. You can recover crashed app elements using Kubernetes.

4. Security and stability

The fact that containerization allows applications to be “written once and run anywhere”, speaks to the stability of the technology.

When containers are created on a secure virtual machine, the security of the container gets tied to the infrastructure's security protocols that are robust and comprehensive. There is also increased stability because individual containers consume fewer resources.

Segmenting containers provides additional defense as it makes it more difficult to invade. It also increases the likelihood that compromises will be detected and contained.

Containerization is a game-changer in DevOps for many enterprises. If your organization is considering moving to containers, partner with an expert in Kubernetes Managed Services, backed by a robust DevOps practice. Do reach out to us to see how CloudNow can help you.

This blog originally published at CloudNow Blog. Link to the original blog

Reactive Frameworks 101: What they are and how they can help make your application better

CloudNow Technologies — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 04:55:30 +0000

Let’s start with what reactive frameworks are. To understand the term, we first split it into two components – reactive programming and reactive systems.

Reactive programming (Rx) is defined as an asynchronous programming model that deals with data streams, making it possible to easily express static (arrays for instance) or dynamic (e.g. event emitters) data streams through programming languages.

A reactive system on the other hand is an architectural style that enables applications made up of microservices to work together to better communicate with each other and their environment. They are event-driven, interactive, flexible, resilient, and responsive as they harness asynchronous message-driven communication. This architecture type is popular with more enterprises turning to the cloud.

Together, reactive systems and reactive programming create reactive frameworks.

Author of several programming books Bruce Eckel, and CTO of Typesafe Jonas Boner published “The Reactive Manifesto”, which explains that reactive applications need to be able to react to events (flexible), load (interactive), failure (resilient), and users (responsive).

Companies that have been using Rx extensively are Netflix and Google. Take Google Maps for instance. The app places a dot on your location, which moves with you by tracking your device’s position relative to North. It submits these values to the API every few seconds, which displays the response as the moving dot. That’s reactive programming in a nutshell.

As for Netflix, the digital streaming service receives hundreds of billions of requests every single day and needs to run all these “events” alongside each other to produce quick and reliable responses to consumer clicks. All possible because of reactive programming.

That brings us to Data Streams. What are they?

In reactive programming, all events are in the form of a data stream where information and data are pushed to the user. Reactive programming uses asynchronous non-blocking data streams. Asynchronous means you don’t have to wait for a task to be completed, you can move on to the next task until the data is available.

Every event comes from a data stream. That means any messages, calls, and even failures, are going to be conveyed as a result of the stream. In reactive programming, data streams are created from events that happen as a result of variables and data structures.

Data streams are in effect the foundation of your application. With Rx, you “observe” these data streams and react when it returns a value.

Which takes us next to Observables. What are they?

If the data stream is the foundation of reactive programming, observables are the building blocks.

An observable is a collection of data that waits to be invoked before it can issue data. There are two types of observables – those that require a subscription in the form of an action (cold) and those that do not (hot).

For instance, if there is a download available and the user clicks on the download button, it becomes a cold observable as nothing happens unless the user interacts with the stream. A new ticker that shows live updates even without any action by the user is a hot observable.

In reactive programming, every data stream is observable.

Here are some of the key advantages of this approach

Rx makes the backend interactive
Rx makes for faster systems as it becomes simpler to do asynchronous work
Rx makes it easier to compose data streams
Rx makes the code base more readable Rx increases the response time for consumers on account of its asynchronous nature
Rx makes the application more efficient

For greater productivity, better resilience, and greatly improved scalability, enterprises ought to consider a reactive framework as it embraces reactive programming and reactive systems to deliver a positive experience for users. If you would like to know more about how reactive programming can help your enterprise, do get in touch with us at CloudNow.

This blog originally published at CloudNow Blog. Link to the original blog

HR productivity being sapped by On- and Off-boarding, L&D, and Compliance? An IAM could be what’s missing.

CloudNow Technologies — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 05:16:43 +0000

The synergy between Identity and Access Management (IAM) and IT, cybersecurity, and admin departments of an organization is obvious, but another department in an enterprise that is equally advantaged by IAM is Human Resources. You see, IAM doesn’t just help keep the bad guys out. It works to make life easier for the good guys as well.

HR is already challenged by large and scattered workforces – a scenario accelerated by the pandemic – and therefore having a framework of business processes, policies, and technologies can facilitate better management of employees. To a large extent, this is exactly what an IAM does.

Here are four ways IAM can help with Human Resources.

1. Seamless Employee On-boarding/Off-boarding

IAM facilitates automated and monitored on-boarding and off-boarding of employees in several ways. An important part of how this is achieved is that during the provisioning process an IAM creates a single account for each user, to which you can assign access to all necessary apps.

What would otherwise take HR days can now be done in minutes - which means that employees can hit the ground running on their first day, turning new hires into productive members of the team faster than ever. Also, IAM ensures employees only have the permissions they need, helping maintain security.

The off-boarding transition too is faster as deprovisioning is automated by IAM, and keeps the organization safe from unauthorized access to applications and data by former employees. This can go a long way in ensuring privacy and security.

Without a centralized IAM system, provisioning and deprovisioning need to be done manually, which means a longer time for employees to gain productivity, and also longer before employees are removed from the organization’s system, leaving the door open to security risks.

2. Efficient Learning and Development

IAM is all bringing all users onto a common platform for easier management. This basic concept lends itself perfectly to also delivering communication and training to all employees across the organization through the same system.

It is easier to roll out mandatory training content through the IAM dashboard to employees who are registered on the IAM, and track progress. Content too can be tailormade for employees based on their function or department. The IAM can therefore replace a Learning Management System in the roll-out of several types of communication or training.

3. Improved Employee Relations

Human Resources today are dealing with an increasingly distributed workforce - this has its upsides, but also cuts employees off from a traditional office setting. So, how do you work on improving those relationships, maintaining a consistent experience for employees connecting to corporate resources from across the country or world, and without sacrificing security?

Just as with the roll-out of mandatory training, an IAM is an ideal platform to also roll-out messages, announcements and notices to employees across the organization. New members can be assisted with orientation and find their feet faster with the smooth onboarding process that an IAM enables. And even little things like simplifying admin issues - such as forgotten passwords or a simple, pain-free addition of required access permissions - can make operations much smoother for every member of the team.

4. Comprehensive Documentation and Compliance

A strong IAM solution can support compliance with regulatory standards, automate audit reporting and simplify processes for regulatory conformance. Detailed and comprehensive logging is a big part of this.

Maintaining verifiable proof of consumption of critical communications and mandatory training by employees plays an important role in demonstrating compliance to standards. Additionally, custom-built forms for maintaining up-to-date documentation on team members ensure appropriate and accurate data on record at all times, while automated deprovisioning helps support an employee’s right to be forgotten.

Security, productivity, and compliance - the right IAM, like Akku, can build and enforce both of these organization-wide for HR departments across industries. We’d love to tell you more about it. Contact us today for a consultation.

This blog originally published at Akku Blog. Link to the original blog

Why micro front-ends are the way forward in modernizing application user interfaces

CloudNow Technologies — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 10:33:59 +0000

It is a misconception that microservices are only used for the back-end development of apps. The fact is that microservices are the way forward for front-end development as well, because, like with the back-end, they fragment front-end monoliths into smaller, more manageable components. This increases the efficiency of the development process, makes the UI more maintainable, and makes the deployment of individual features independent.

Web developer Cam Jackson defines micro front-ends as "An architectural style where independently deliverable frontend applications are composed into a greater whole".

Micro front-ends are becoming an increasingly widely adopted trend for building web-based applications, and are already in use by leading enterprises including Ikea, Starbucks, and Spotify.

Why are companies modularizing their front-ends with microservices?

There are a number of reasons for this shift - here are a few important use cases for this approach.

1. To convert existing apps into a progressive or responsive web applications

Using micro front-ends can represent an easier way to modify the existing code as the approach democratizes development and deployment.

2. To manage multiple teams and complex front-end needs for large organizations

A monolithic front-end would mean slow forward progress, while micro front-ends reduce cross-team dependency, thereby speeding things up.

3. To scale development

With a modularized front-end, testing and deployment become more efficient without affecting the entire application development.

4. To use new or different languages

In legacy applications with monolithic architecture, integration with new languages may not be possible because they may have dependencies beyond what meets the eye. This needs comprehensive decoupling into microservices in order to adopt new languages. This is seamlessly achieved with micro front-ends.

In the words of software developer Martin Fowler, "Micro front-ends push you to be explicit and deliberate about how data and events flow between different parts of the application, which is something that we should have been doing anyway!"

Let’s get to the benefits of micro front-ends

1. Code maintenance is easier

As the codebase for each micro front-end is smaller, it’s almost as if developers are working on mini apps, where each team will be responsible for specific micro-apps right from database to user interface.

Additionally, one component of the app can be deployed, and different teams can re-use it as well as the code for it. These individual codebases are easier to manage and mitigate the risk of complexities from accidental coupling.

2. Micro front-ends are tech agnostic

The architecture of micro front-ends is independent of technology. That means you can use any language of your preference - whether PHP, Python, or any JavaScript like Node, Angular, Vue, etc. - without worrying about deployment, upgrades, or updates.

3. They are easily scalable

Moving from a monolith architecture to microservices can help you upgrade incrementally with teams working independently. This makes the app more scalable because if there is a bug-fix or upgrade on one part of the front-end, it can be made on that part alone, without disrupting the functioning of the rest of the application.

Are there downsides?

Yes, there are a few.

1. Real-world testing

Complex testing of the application as a whole can get a little complicated and it may be harder to get a complete picture of the application. While each front-end mini app can be tested in isolation, getting a real-world user test is tougher.

2. Ensuring standard quality across micro front-ends

The deployment, assembly, and configuration process for each micro front-end will be different, so it can get challenging to keep all developers working to the same standards to ensure a high-quality user experience is delivered.

While these two downsides do represent genuine challenges, they also have clear solutions. For instance, defining and implementing the right testing use cases during the course of the user acceptance testing (UAT) sprints can help address testing concerns. And with a well-oiled Agile process followed through the development process, adherence to quality standards across the team can be ensured as well.

As with micro back-ends, the tremendous benefits that micro front-ends offer in terms of ability to scale, maintain and upgrade the front-end of an application far outweigh the increased complexity that they bring, especially for larger organizations.

Micro front-ends are not just a new buzzword. They are an important tool enabling large enterprises to provide enhanced customer experiences. If you are looking to maintain a competitive edge and propel your brand forward, give CloudNow a call today.

This blog originally published at CloudNow Blog. Link to the original blog