Author:David Messina
This year proved to be a momentous step for the development and adoption of distributed applications. Smaller web-scale companies, to larger web-scale companies and now enterprises are deploying distributed applications; and we expect to see the trend pick up steam in 2015. We are entering an era of distributed applications which represent the next generation of application architectures, approaches and processes.
Microsoft, IBM and Amazon are three major proof points that these modern distributed applications are becoming a focal point for businesses - not only in the near future, but now. Microsoft expressed its opinion on distributed applications when it reshaped its Windows Server strategy around them. Both IBM and Amazon, in addition to other tech giants, voiced their support of containers and distributed applications initiatives as well.
But why are distributed applications so attractive to enterprises? Distributed applications are comprised of loosely-coupled services and can run on different physical hosts and communicate with each other over a network. Since they have a dynamic lifestyle, they can be scaled and updated on-demand which provides the agility many companies seek. Today's business climate requires higher levels of innovation than ever before, and distributed applications that support open portability are at the forefront of this demand. The reason, in short: Companies can deliver differentiated offerings.
Companies including ING, a global financial institution, and Gilt Groupe, the online "flash sale" retailer, are already reaping the benefits of distributed applications, as they are able to improve business processes and differentiate their services. ING, which has a large number of deployments every day, is now able to significantly improve their continuous deployment process. Gilt continuously enriches the capabilities of its service to distinguish itself from competitors; oftentimes making 100 iterations in a given day. These types of use cases display the innovation that distributed applications are enabling.
Even the organizations with the highest regulations and requirements are recognizing the benefits, and the number of financial and government institutions that are relying on distributed applications is only going to increase. Enterprises will benefit from the positive affect distributed applications have on their respective business strategies. We truly are entering the era of distributed applications, and 2015 will showcase that.