Cloud services: saving time and reducing project development costs. What does the Client need to know about it?
The cloud is, indeed, the remote storage which we rent to store our information. Without a moment’s hesitation, we use the cloud in our telephone or computer to save some hard disc space and to have access to our information from any place. The same way the web developers use remote resources that allows them to save time and reduce costs of work, being profitable for both developers’ team and clients.
According to information provided by Gartner (research company specialized in IT field) the world market of the public cloud services is forecasted to grow by 18% in 2017, and that will make in total $246.8 billion as compared to $209.2 billion in 2016.
If you start working with the developers’ team, who use cloud suppliers’ offers, they will definitely mention these services in your communication, and it is not unreasonable that you may want to learn the issue in detail.
In this article Umbrella, as a company professionally engaged in web and mobile development, invites you to get acquainted with cloud services starting with some most effective ones that have already confirmed their practical value for our experts.
Generally speaking, cloud tools have some common advantages and disadvantages:
Pros:
- You do not need to worry about the equipment, where the information is stored, its security and functionality — you only pay its rent
- You can access the services from any device and any location (provided there is an internet connection)
- The power of your computer does not matter since all complex calculations and tasks are performed by the servers of the cloud provider
Cons:
- There is always a risk that the supplier’s server will fail
- The risk of data confidentiality breach is not to be excluded
- There is a lack of control over the information after it is handed over to the service provider
- In some situations, the services for which you have paid may currently be excessive and unnecessary for the development team
Every service of this kind performs its specific function.We will offer you a list of 5 most effective cloud-based web development tools applicable to certain processes within the development of a software product. Let’s start with the main process for developers – coding.
There are quite a number of services designed to facilitate the work on the code. As a rule, there are no fundamental differences in their function – they are rather similar to each other, therefore, the choice of the best service will be rather subjective and will depend on the preferences and habits of the developer.
The first two positions in our list belong to Koding and Vertabelo, which were chosen as the most useful sets of tools for coding.
Vertabelo
Vertabello offers the following opportunities
- Online design and editing of databases
- Shared use of models and simultaneous work with them
- Possibility to share the scheme/model with the customer
If you decide to use a set of tools of this kind, then the selection of Vertabelo will be fully justified. Working with databases is greatly facilitated due to the following:
- User-friendly interface and navigation
- Automatic saving of models and version tracking
- Support of PostgreSQL 9.x, MySQL 5.5, Microsoft SQL Server 2012, SQLite 3.7.x, Oracle 11g, IBM DB2 9.7, HSQLDB 2.3 databases
- Other tools and opportunities
In case you are in doubt whether this service does meet your needs, you have the opportunity to try and work with it for 7 days free of charge, and test your impressions and results of its use. However, similar opportunity is also provided in any other service.
Koding
We distinguish Koding among the other cloud-based tools for web developers, since this is a full IDE (integrated development environment). This is a convenient service, which provides everything you need to create and run an application in the cloud. In addition, it includes a social network as an environment for developers’ communication. Here are the opportunities offered:
- Collaboration of the team not only with the code but with the development environment, as a whole
- Analytical tools allow detecting shortcomings in the work process and eliminating them in a timely manner
- You can choose between a “cloud” and a locally installed version of Koding
- Support for several programming languages, including C, C++, Go, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby
Koding saves your time and efforts required to configure your own development environment and makes it easier for new developers to join the team. The next stage, which often requires the use of cloud services, is testing. Not all teams have sufficient equipment available to test the finished product and its versions.
BrowserStack
This is the service, which allows you to quickly conduct manual and automated testing in various real browsers. Its possibilities offered include:
- Possibility to choose a browser and corresponding browser versions
- Creating screenshots of pages in an automatic mode with just one click (different combinations of different browsers and resolutions)
- Parallel automatic cloud testing in different browsers
- Local testing of private and internal servers; efficient debugging system
Accordingly, due to use of such cloud-based tools for the web development the team saves time for testing and funds for acquiring a park of testing devices.
Soasta
This is a convenient set of tools to test performance and conduct load tests. The following opportunities are offered:
- Accurate and efficient testing based on the new RUM technology (Real User Monitoring)
- Transition from frequent testing to continuous testing (throughout the entire work on the software product, starting with the development process)
- Selection of locations and scale of testing (number of users)
In general, Soasta makes it possible to test the product or a new version of the product based on the real experience of users located in different parts of the globe. From the point of view of popularity, the following service can be truly called a leader in the field of the source code management (SCM).
Github
The range of use of this cloud-based web development platform covers a wide variety of situations: from experimental personal open source projects to business projects of various scale.
Github offers the following opportunities:
- Hosting and analysis of the code
- Discussion of the code with the developers community
- Project management
- Study and discussion of new ideas and projects
Github joined a large community of developers, who trust the service, place their software products and actively use the tools offered by the service. As a result, Github offers an outstanding collection of information and projects, and it’s very convenient to work with such a full-scale resource.
Conclusion
Even with some shortcomings, the services described and their analogs allow considerably saving time and money in the development process. So, do not give up real help. You need to carefully study the proposed cloud-based web development tools, compare their capabilities with the proposed payment plans and choose those services that will help to optimize the processes to the profit of developers and customers!
Here is a traditional bonus from Umbrella – one more useful service: we always give our clients more than we promise!
Protoshare
Another useful service is a convenient prototyping tool designed to jointly create and discuss mockups and prototypes of websites and apps. Using this tool, the team members may discuss and modify prototypes in real time mode. Representatives of the team may demonstrate prototypes to the customer to determine whether it meets his/her requirements and vision.
The possibilities provided by Protoshare:
- Possibility to use your own prototype templates in all your projects
- Possibility to add interactive elements
- Possibility to jointly view prototypes stored in one place and receive feedback from colleagues and customers
- Possibility to create an unlimited number of projects, and an unlimited number of pages in the project
- Rich selection of colors, fonts, shapes and ready-made interface elements
We presented the brief description for some of the cloud services, which we consider effective and easy-to-use. Want to learn more details of any other best tools for cloud-based web development? Ask Umbrella!
*The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of its author, not of Techaeris
Last Updated on August 11, 2019.
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