November 30, 2022 The 12 Factor App Part 3: (Disposability, Dev/prod parity, Logs, Admin processes)
In previous articles on the subject of the cloud, you already got an idea of what the cloud is and what services it offers. With the help of a well-known example, we would now like to make the topic of cloud even more tangible for you and take a look into the future. Even if you are not familiar with cloud computing services, you have most likely heard of this example.
The example of utilities (water & electricity) is very popular for a simple explanation of cloud providers: For example, whereas factories used to have their own power plants, today they are just normal customers of the power grid and pay for electricity on demand. This is now happening analogously in the IT world. (Source)
More and more companies are using cloud computing to make their IT infrastructure agile and elastic. This can happen on either public, private or hybrid clouds. Moreover, enterprises can leverage cloud at different levels depending on whether they want infrastructure, platform or directly software as a service.
Even though the pace of innovation in the IT industry is a lot faster than in the energy sector, the utility model highlights the economies of scale and cost savings of using cloud services. In the cloud, system administrators do not have much more effort to manage 1,000 servers, whereas on-premise does. Here, the effort increases from server to server.
Cloud computing is a catalyst for further innovation. As cloud computing becomes more affordable and ubiquitous, the opportunities for innovation only increase. It's true that this will inevitably require more creativity and skill from IT and business leaders. Ultimately, however, it is precisely this that should be welcomed and seen as an opportunity.
If you take a critical look at the utility example, you'll notice that many companies are now generating their own electricity as well. Reasons for this may include: Reliability, strategic advantage or cost transparency. Regardless of whether they have stuck with their own power plant or are using a new form of energy generation such as photovoltaics.
This observation can also be made in the IT sector. Not all companies or divisions use a cloud solution. There will be many different constellations; including 100% on-premise, 100% on-cloud, and many other distributions between the two extremes. In the end, the individual mix will probably win.