Why ISVs and SaaS Vendors Should Go Cloud Native with AWS and ClearScale
Mar 15, 2022
According to Gartner analysts, global cloud revenue is estimated to reach $474 billion in 2022, up from $408 billion in 2021. They also predict that cloud revenue will likely surpass non-cloud revenue for relevant enterprise IT markets over the next few years.
That makes being in the cloud a good business proposition for ISVs and SaaS vendors. But it’s not just about offering cloud-based products and services. To meet customers’ changing needs and preferences, accelerate time to market, and do all the other things required for success in today’s fast-changing business world, going “cloud-native” is what may give ISVs and SaaS vendors a competitive edge.
Going Cloud-Native Requires Change
Cloud-native refers to building and running applications to leverage the distributed computing offered by the cloud delivery model. Cloud-native apps are designed and built to take advantage of the cloud’s flexibility, resiliency, scale, and elasticity.
That’s a big change for many ISVs and SaaS vendors. Despite the benefits of agile development and DevOps, many companies in the software industry still employ traditional waterfall methodologies. The waterfall way tends to contradict the culture and philosophy behind cloud-native development in which apps are built and deployed in a rapid cadence by small, dedicated feature teams made up of developers who also know how to build in networking, security, and all other necessities so all parts of the distributed system become part of the app. (That’s the way we work at ClearScale.)
In addition, there’s the continuing IT skills shortage and the increasing competition for developers with experience with specific platforms or in specialized areas like artificial intelligence. Add to that the exodus of employees from the workforce, as well as those who are being more selective in who they work for and the benefits and working conditions they want.
It’s also increasingly difficult for organizations to stay on top of changing security and compliance issues. Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated, and the threat landscape is constantly expanding.
AWS Facilitates the Cloud-Native Approach
Among the solutions to help ISVs and SaaS vendors embrace and exploit the advantages of cloud-native app development is to go with a platform that facilitates that approach. AWS stands out among them, with a wide array of resources and tools to support ISVs and SaaS vendors in developing, marketing, and supporting cloud-native products and services.
That includes AWS SaaS Boost, an open-source reference environment that facilitates the move to SaaS. It takes on the heavy lifting of launching SaaS offerings by guiding software builders through the migration and operational processes, making the move as frictionless as possible. It provides ready-to-use core elements such as deployment automation, analytics and dashboards, billing, and metering.
There’s also Amazon AppStream 2.0, a fully managed application streaming service that helps accelerate software adoption by enabling the delivery of software demos, trials, and training to help customers get started quickly with a vendor’s apps.
And then there’s the wide range of development tools that facilitate cloud-native development and its key components such as serverless computing (i.e., AWS Lambda) and containers (i.e., Amazon Elastic Container Service).
AWS provides numerous tools to help organizations make informed decisions on current and future cloud spending and cost optimization. That includes AWS CloudWatch, an infrastructure monitoring solution for DevOps teams. It offers analytics about resource utilization, infrastructure health, and overall performance
ClearScale Knows What It Takes
It would be easy to create a novel-length list of AWS resources that support and facilitate cloud-native app development. But there’s still the reality that some ISVs and SaaS vendors just don’t have the internal resources or expertise to leverage AWS’ resources. Or they’re too busy with other strategic initiatives and daily operations to devote time to transitioning to cloud-native development. The solution – partner with an organization that specializes in cloud-native development as well as the AWS Cloud.
ClearScale offers experience and proven expertise in both. As an AWS Premier Consulting Partner, ClearScale has repeatedly demonstrated its proficiency in leveraging the AWS Cloud and AWS’ many tools and resources to build solutions that meet business requirements and exceed expectations. In addition, ClearScale holds Amazon Web Services (AWS) SaaS Competency status. This designation recognizes that ClearScale has demonstrated deep experience helping organizations design and build SaaS and cloud-native solutions on AWS.
Cloud-Native App Development Expertise in Action
Real-world customer stories demonstrate ClearScale’s successes in working with ISVs and SaaS vendors, as well as in cloud-native development.
For example, in less than five months, ClearScale helped a software company design and develop a robust SaaS application that sits on top of its differentiated computer vision technology platform. The new service is built to scale with demand, enabling the company to extend its capabilities to a much larger customer base. The new subsystem now serves as an integral piece of a broader SaaS-driven strategy. The company continues to work with the ClearScale team, which is currently working on implementing a UX / UI design to prepare it for commercial deployment.
ClearScale helped another company develop an AWS cloud-based platform for SaaS delivery. In addition to the benefits derived from the high availability and redundancy of the AWS platform, the ClearScale solution’s use of continuous integration and infrastructure automation drives the quality and repeatability of deployments. The company has been able to significantly reduce the time it takes to deliver new analytical products and features into the hands of its customers. This accelerated development/release cycle is also elevating the level of innovation and further differentiating the company’s brand.
Get More Information Now
For ISVs and SaaS vendors interested in leveraging the benefits of cloud application modernization services, as well as those of the AWS Cloud, ClearScale can help.
Get in touch today to speak with a cloud expert and discuss how we can help:
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