cloud computing Archives - Black Rock IT Solutions – Software Product Engineering Services

How Cloud Engineering Transforms Modern IT Infrastructure

Chanjal Sabu — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 12:01:17 +0000

Modern IT infrastructure is like the foundation of a strong and efficient digital world. It’s the technology and systems that help computers, phones, and the internet work smoothly. Without it, our digital lives wouldn’t be as quick and reliable as they are today. Cloud engineering services play a pivotal role in enabling organizations to undergo a successful cloud transformation. As businesses recognize the tremendous advantages of migrating their operations to the cloud, a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) becomes an essential partner in this journey. These dedicated providers offer expertise and support in implementing and optimizing cloud-based solutions, empowering businesses to unlock the full potential of cloud technologies. With their guidance, organizations can harness the scalability, agility, and cost-efficiency of the cloud, driving innovation and staying ahead in the digital landscape.

What is Cloud Computing

Cloud computing represents a transformative paradigm shift in the way we store, access, and utilize data and software applications. At its core, cloud computing enables users to save their data and applications on remote servers accessible via the internet. This eliminates the need for physical storage devices and local processing power. Essentially, the cloud becomes a virtual space where information resides.

Types of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing comprises three primary service models:

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): SaaS provides users with licensed software applications on a subscription or on-demand basis. This model, exemplified by offerings like Microsoft Office 365, enables users to access software from any device with an internet connection. It streamlines software distribution and updates, making it incredibly convenient for businesses and individuals alike.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): IaaS offers a comprehensive suite of IT infrastructure components over the internet. This includes servers, operating systems, and storage resources. Leading IaaS providers such as IBM Cloud and Microsoft Azure empower organizations to forgo the capital expenses associated with purchasing and maintaining hardware and software. Instead, they can harness the flexibility and scalability of cloud-based resources on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): PaaS is the most intricate layer of cloud computing. It goes beyond delivering software; it provides a platform for creating and delivering software via the internet. While it shares similarities with SaaS, the fundamental difference lies in its role as a development environment. Prominent examples include Salesforce.com and Heroku, which offer platforms for building and deploying cloud-based applications.

Advantages of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing presents a wealth of advantages for individuals and businesses alike. Some key benefits include:

Universal Accessibility: One of the most compelling advantages of cloud computing is the ability to access data and applications from anywhere with an internet connection. This level of accessibility allows users to seamlessly transition between devices, carrying their files and settings effortlessly.

Data Security and Backup: Cloud services facilitate data security and backup. Files stored in the cloud are less vulnerable to loss due to hardware failures, as they are stored redundantly on multiple servers. In case of a local hard drive crash, cloud-based data remains accessible, serving as a reliable backup.

Cost Savings: Cloud computing offers substantial cost-saving potential for businesses. Instead of investing in expensive server centers and maintaining IT infrastructure, companies can rely on fast internet connections and cloud services. This shift can significantly reduce operational expenses.

Software Updates: Cloud-based software can be updated more swiftly and seamlessly than traditional methods involving physical media like discs or flash drives. For instance, Adobe Creative Cloud provides users with easy access to software updates and fixes via the internet.

Scalability: Cloud services are highly scalable, allowing businesses to adapt to changing demands and scale resources up or down as needed. This scalability fosters agility and cost efficiency.

Collaboration: Cloud computing promotes collaboration by enabling multiple users to access and edit documents in real-time. Services like Google Drive and Dropbox have become indispensable for collaborative work environments.

Challenges and Considerations

Despite its many advantages, cloud computing also poses certain challenges and considerations:

Security Concerns and Data Loss: Storing sensitive data in the cloud can raise security concerns, as breaches can occur despite cloud providers’ robust security measures. Organizations must prioritize data encryption, two-factor authentication (2FA), and other security protocols to protect their data. Additionally, adequate backup and recovery strategies are essential to mitigate the risk of data loss, especially if encryption keys are compromised.

Susceptibility to Disasters: Cloud data centers, while highly redundant, are not immune to natural disasters, power outages, and internal bugs. Disaster recovery plans are vital to ensure data availability during unforeseen events.

Learning Period: Cloud technology requires a learning period for both employees and managers. Unintentional mistakes in configuring access controls or data sharing can have far-reaching consequences due to the interconnected nature of cloud systems.

What Cloud Computing Can Do For Your Business

Businesses adopt cloud computing in various ways. Some opt for a pure cloud model, where all applications and data reside in the cloud, providing maximum flexibility and scalability. Others can choose a hybrid approach, keeping critical data and applications on private servers while utilizing the cloud for supplementary resources.

The applications of cloud computing extend across industries, with prominent use cases in streaming platforms.

Audio and video streaming platforms store media files remotely, leveraging cloud computing to deliver seamless content to users. An example is Netflix. They gradually shifted from traditional data centers to utilizing cloud services, particularly Amazon Web Services (AWS). This move allowed Netflix to scale its streaming service rapidly, improve performance, and enhance user experiences, making it one of the early adopters and success stories of cloud computing. Popular platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. offer cloud-based storage solutions that facilitate file sharing and accessibility.

Security Measures

Protecting digital assets and data stored on cloud-based services requires a multifaceted approach. Key security measures include:

When it comes to securing data in the cloud, several strategies play a crucial role. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is a fundamental step, requiring users to provide two forms of identification before accessing cloud services, enhancing user verification. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) establish encrypted connections between users’ devices and cloud servers, ensuring data remains protected during transmission across potentially insecure networks. Data encryption, both in transit and at rest, serves as a foundational security practice, rendering data unintelligible to unauthorized access. To further safeguard cloud environments, Firewall Services are deployed to actively monitor and filter network traffic, preventing unauthorized access and malicious activities.

Conclusion

Cloud computing has revolutionized the way we store, access, and utilize data and software applications. Its three primary service models—SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS—offer unmatched flexibility and scalability. Businesses and individuals alike benefit from cloud computing’s universal accessibility, cost savings, and enhanced collaboration capabilities. However, cloud computing is not without its challenges, notably security concerns and data loss risks. Robust security measures and disaster recovery plans are imperative to mitigate these risks. In the business world, cloud computing has become a cornerstone of digital transformation, enabling organizations to streamline operations, scale resources, and enhance collaboration. Whether through streaming platforms or data storage solutions, cloud computing is ubiquitous and continues to shape our digital landscape. As technology evolves, so too will the landscape of cloud computing, ushering in new innovations, challenges, and opportunities.

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Impact of Cloud Computing on Software Product Engineering

Bijaya — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 11:42:14 +0000

In the fast-paced world of technology, there’s a silent revolution that’s transforming how software products are engineered: cloud computing. This behind-the-scenes player is rewriting the rulebook and reshaping the landscape of software product engineering in ways we couldn’t have imagined. Let’s take a down-to-earth journey through the tangible ways cloud computing is making its mark on this field, backed by real-world examples and eye-opening stats.

1. Agile Collaboration, No Strings Attached

Remember the days when teams had to be in the same physical space to work together? Cloud computing changed that. Collaboration tools like GitHub have taken the software engineering world by storm. Over 73 million repositories host projects ranging from tiny utilities to massive applications, proving that the cloud is all about teamwork without borders.

2. Scaling Up and Down, Effortlessly

When a software product gains sudden popularity, it can be overwhelming for traditional infrastructure. But cloud computing lets you scale resources as needed. When Pokémon GO became a global sensation, cloud scalability ensured the game didn’t crash under pressure. That’s agility at its finest.

3. Your Budget’s New Best Friend

In the past, hefty budgets were needed for hardware and maintenance. Cloud computing flips the script. Slack, the messaging app, slashed operational expenses by a whopping 20% after migrating to the cloud. This shift means even startups can afford powerful computing without breaking the bank.

4. DevOps: Bridging the Gap Seamlessly

Software development and IT operations used to be separate islands. Not anymore, thanks to DevOps. And guess what’s the perfect match for DevOps? Cloud computing. High-performing DevOps teams deploy 208 times more frequently, a game-changer in the fast-paced software engineering world.

5. Borders Are So Last Century

Cloud computing has shattered geographical barriers. GitHub’s millions of repositories are a testament to global collaboration, turning software engineering into a worldwide symphony of coding minds. It’s the ultimate proof that great software knows no boundaries.

6. From Data to Insights

The cloud’s ability to handle massive amounts of data is a game-changer. The New York Times leveraged cloud computing to analyze data and deliver personalized recommendations. It’s like turning raw data into gold by understanding reader preferences.

7. Security, No Compromises

Cloud security used to be a concern. Now, cloud providers invest heavily in fortifying their platforms. Microsoft Azure, a major cloud player, complies with over 90 industry standards, proving that the cloud is no longer the Wild West but a secure fortress for software product engineering.

8. Innovation Unleashed

Cloud computing isn’t just about convenience; it’s about sparking innovation. Amazon’s voice-controlled assistant, Alexa, is a prime example. Cloud computing’s power in terms of scalability and real-time analysis allows companies to dream big and innovate even bigger.

In the world of software product engineering, cloud computing isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a disruptive force that’s rewriting the rules. From global collaboration to affordable scalability, from agile development to security reassurances, the cloud’s impact is undeniable. As technology continues to evolve, the cloud will remain a guiding star, leading software product engineering into a future full of possibilities.

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Patient’s Clinical Data Repository for personal care service

Manjith M — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 06:31:00 +0000

In the not-too-distant past, getting the full picture of patient history for an in-home care service provider or emergency care provider was practically impossible, as most data was in siloed systems, and data exchange between these systems was challenging. However, the recent introduction of services leveraging HL7® FHIR® standard by cloud service providers fueled the adoption of FHIR-based data exchange – making data storable across all care settings, which can be seen as a sudden change in pursuit of interoperability.

With the Interoperability and Patient Access final rule (CMS-9115-F) having come to effect in March 2020, there is much talk about FHIR across the industry, with the buzz causing interesting developments in the field. The new rules reorient the healthcare technology promoting a ‘patients first’ approach, with the primary focus being the streamlined flow of data to the patients, giving them (and healthcare personnel) the opportunity to be more informed, and will go a long way in expediting unnecessary burden and costs. In short, FHIR will be the next-generation standard by which electronic medical records (EMRs), digital health products, and patients use and exchange structured healthcare data.

A Reliable Healthcare Cloud Platform

Experion’s Healthcare and Life Sciences team recently built a Clinical Data Repository for a leading provider of home and community health care services in North America.

With over 100 locations across the country, including home care offices, pharmacies, and infusion clinics, the client has more than 13,000 staff members and provides care to over 350,000 clients. They are dedicated to enhancing the quality of life, dignity, and independence of all their patients by providing customized care plans and solutions that allow the patients to remain in the comfort of their own homes.

(Clinical Data Repository (CDR) is a database that consolidates patients’ clinical data from various clinical sources to present an aggregate view of a single patient).

Utilizing “The Azure API for FHIR®,” a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that allows upload, storage, management, and analysis of healthcare data in the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) format, an FHIR-based Clinical Data Repository was created that made working with Protected Health Information (PHI) in the cloud much easier.

Some of the characteristics of the CDR are:

· Enterprise-grade, FHIR®-based endpoint for data access and storage in FHIR® format.

· SMART on FHIR for mobile and web implementations.

· Control on data at scale with role-based access control (RBAC).

· Audit log tracking for access, creation, modification, and reads within each data store to meet security standards like HIPAA.

The solution eliminates the need for investing in resources to build, run, and maintain FHIR services and enables care providers to leverage the power of clinical data. The CDR has become the primary ‘source of truth’ that sits on top of other systems and allows standardized data in the FHIR format. This helps to enable data exchange across multiple systems, including analytics, with a consistent data format.

Use cases and challenges of an FHIR service

As the FHIR standard expands and continues to garner more adoption across the globe, more use cases will evolve. Though they seem infinite right now, many of these use cases can be seen as the first strides in removing some of the major hurdles that limit healthcare providers from accomplishing greater patient engagement, developing fine health management systems at a large scale, and leveraging technology to mete out more intelligent clinical decisions.

A few use cases that can also be seen as a trend are:

· Third-party SMART on FHIR compatible apps that can be launched within, authenticated, and integrated with EMR/EHR Systems.

· FHIR Façade for legacy healthcare systems that speaks FHIR in front-end and directly talk to the backend in native data.

· Digital Health products and Healthcare IoT products leveraging fully managed FHIR cloud services as backend.

Yet this is not to say that FHIR interoperability comes with no challenges. In fact, one would not be wrong to wonder why the adoption rates of FHIR are so slow, despite the system presenting a slew of hitherto unseen solutions. One of the reasons is that even large organizations struggle to match their existing domain to match the FIHR’s concepts, effectively operating as a shock to the system, unsettling the current balance and causing problems in realizing the desired benefits. This means many healthcare operators will need to ramp up their digital infrastructure, which may not be economically feasible every time.

Healthcare providers must show a great deal of resilience and must attempt to uplift their digital whereabouts to suit the needs of tomorrow’s technological solutions.

To learn more about how you can utilize FHIR on your project, talk to a Healthcare and Life Science expert at Experion today.

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Exploring Cloud Computing: Service Models and Business Use Cases

Mohamed Farook — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 13:01:00 +0000

2020 – the year that technology became a superhero who helped enterprises deal with the business disruption born of the pandemic.

Cloud computing emerged as one of the biggest boons for enterprises during these turbulent times. Irrespective of the industry, cloud allowed enterprises across the globe ensure business continuity amidst the pandemic. According to Gartner, by 2024, more than 45% of IT spending on system infrastructure, infrastructure software, application software, and business process outsourcing will shift from traditional solutions to the cloud. In addition to this, Forrester predicted that the global public cloud infrastructure market is to grow 35% to $120 billion in 2021.

With cloud computing evolving and becoming the backbone of business resilience, here is a quick look at the different cloud service models that enterprises need to consider, along with a few cloud computing use cases.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) makes software available for users over the internet – it stores, manages, and distributes data hosted on a remote cloud server and makes it accessible to users from a browser on any device. It is considered one of the most adopted models in the business ecosystem, thanks to the ease of use, upfront, subscription-based pricing, and lowered costs. Marketing Automation Tools, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, and online email applications such as Gmail and Office 365, are examples of SaaS applications that are customizable based on the enterprise needs.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Enterprises pay a heavy price and invest a substantial number of human resources into building and maintaining infrastructure. Infrastructure as a Services offers virtualized computing infrastructure on demand and over the internet. In other terms, IaaS is a cloud-based alternative to on-premises computing infrastructure. IaaS models are charged under a “pay as you go” model that allows enterprises to forego capital expenditures and helps them access their data via the cloud. In this cloud computing service model, the IaaS provider ensures ongoing support, and the enterprise has the option of scaling up their requirements at any time.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

This model offers a cloud-based environment that the clients can use to build, test, deploy, manage, update, and scale software applications. PaaS streamlines and simplifies the entire software development process and is one of the most time-effective and cost-effective methods to craft customized software applications. PaaS cloud computing model removes the pain of building and maintaining the software development infrastructure, which is often very expensive. A subscription-based model, PaaS enables faster time to market and enhances enterprise’s ability to react to market changes and opportunities.

Cloud Computing Use Cases

Cloud Storage

Cloud computing enables enterprises to store, access, and retrieve their data from any web-enabled interface over the internet. Cloud solution providers take care of the burden of operation and maintenance of the storage infrastructure. Enterprises have the option to choose either a flat rate or pay as per the cloud storage consumption. Cloud storage lets enterprises reduce the total cost of ownership, achieve quick implementation, ensure superior scalability & business continuity.

Data backup & Disaster recovery

Businesses across the globe are now driven by the belief that “data is the new oil”. The built-in resilience & durability of cloud computing enables cloud solution providers to back up enterprise data safely & securely. Cloud data backup protects data in case of technical issues, security breaches, employee accidents, etc. Having a well-defined data backup policy & disaster recovery plan helps enterprises reestablish business operations quickly after an outage. Data backup & disaster discovery has always been a complex and time-consuming operation, and usually comes with a lower cost for enterprises.

Web traffic spike bursting

Enterprises operating in industries like e-commerce, retail, and finance are required to maintain websites that handle peak traffic loads. It is cost-sensitive to rely on a physical data center environment to handle spikes in web traffic. Enterprises can leverage cloud hosting to lift the strain off their servers during peak hours. This is especially beneficial for organizations that have expected periods of spikes in traffic, as the cloud allows users to offload overage traffic when their on-premises systems are overloaded. Cloud computing can be used to scale enterprises’ network infrastructure and resources to manage and handle traffic spikes during peak season.

Chatbots

Enterprises have been relying on interactive chatbots to enhance sale funnels by providing superior online assistance. Leveraging the power of cloud computing and advanced algorithms, enterprises can create advanced chatbots that store user preferences & behavior and can provide personalized solutions, messages, and products based on them. Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are some of the cloud-based natural-language intelligent bots.

Conclusion

Though cloud computing services are still at a relatively early stage of adoption, they will continue to be one of the most sought-after technologies for enterprises looking for improved accessibility, scalability, agility, business continuity, and cost-efficiency. Success relies upon enterprises who approach cloud computing as an ongoing journey rather than a one-stop destination. Adopting a blanket cloud computing strategy simply won’t deliver the expected results. Instead, enterprises should craft adaptive, secure, and customized cloud solutions that meet their business objectives.

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