Redefining Software Product Engineering on the Cloud

Cloud computing is one of the most transformative technologies, undoubtedly and significantly benefitting businesses. As per Gartner, by 2026, 75% of organizations will adopt a digital transformation model predicated on the cloud as its fundamental underlying platform.

Why revisit cloud engineering?

With cloud adoption, companies have realized the on-demand availability of computing resources such as networking, software, analytics, databases, and servers. This aligns well with companies who want to leverage economies of scale and accelerate business innovation.

Redefining product engineering on the cloud is crucial since technological advancements and the demand for rapid prototyping have led to the rise of on-demand infrastructure, giving popularity to the delivery model that makes computing resources available to users quickly per their needs. Users are not required to make heavy investments to procure hardware or set up networking or data centers. On-demand infrastructure encourages innovation as companies only need to configure use cases and prototypes or upgrade their network infrastructure according to their business requirements.

Factors Driving Product Engineering on the Cloud

Shifting market expectations, revolutionary product architecture, and adoption of new ways of working have impacted cloud product engineering.

Market expectations about performance, reliability, and customer experience have changed considerably. Today, it is vital that organizations deliver consistent performance, low latency or zero downtime, and superior customer experience. With increasing competition, organizations must focus on achieving faster time to market. Instead of setting up data centers (DCs) from scratch, with cloud technologies, organizations can set up DCs with better scale and minimal run of operations. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) models are gaining popularity, where cloud providers host applications and make them available to users over the Internet.

The benefits of evolving technology can be best leveraged by revolutionizing product architecture. While most organizations have access to abundant market insights or competitive data, homegrown infrastructure cannot utilize this data promptly as they are restricted by the size of their processing power or hardware setup. They are also grappling with challenges such as skill shortages and lean financial resources. In addition, a changing competitive landscape has compelled companies to look at new ways of reaching customers, either by expanding the product line or by extending new channels. By adopting cloud platform capabilities, organizations can store a high volume of data and cost-effectively analyse the same. Several organizations have embraced Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) models to analyse and mine their data while allowing their teams to test, deploy, and scale applications very economically.

As companies adapt to rapid technological advancement and automation, they are compelled to adopt brand-new ways of working. Many companies are unable to allocate resources toward innovation, as they are bogged down with legacy technologies. By opting for the cloud, organizations can devote resources to business development and new growth strategies. Cloud also allows for rapid expansion, extension, agility, and flexibility in the face of increased regulation and compliance. By opting for a cloud service provider, companies can ensure quick onboarding, form teams from remote locations, and enable seamless collaboration.

Common Challenges with Cloud Engineering

While cloud engineering solutions are gaining ground, they come with their challenges. Cost optimization is a major concern, but it can be managed with FinOps tools to bring financial accountability and governance. Other worries include cloud repatriation (migrating workloads from a public to a private environment) and cloud dependency (where products must be cloud-native and neutral so that they can be ported from one platform to another). With the growth of cloud providers, best practices must be emphasized. The lack of required skills is another obstacle that needs to be tackled. A roadmap needs to be laid for reskilling as newer technologies require higher skills, collaboration, and agility.

Conclusion

The benefits of cloud engineering are indisputable and far outweigh its challenges. By shifting product engineering to the cloud, businesses can leverage the scalability, accessibility, and computational power of cloud platforms to streamline processes. Embracing cloud-based product engineering empowers organizations to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving marketplace and deliver innovative, high-quality products to meet customer demands effectively.

Raghavendra KA

---

Raghavendra. K.A. - Global Head of Engineering, IOT and Blockchain practice, Infosys