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11.26.2012

Platform-as-a-Service is where the most complex work in the cloud is happening. Increasingly mission-critical applications are being ported to the cloud. This is bringing the emphasis back to the basic principles of computer science and software engineering. In many cases, operators may only be interested in getting the application up and running, but it is important to realize that any shortcuts taken in the early stages will cause major problems if the application is to expand later and connect to other applications – many of whom may be residing in clouds belonging to customers, clients (and maybe competitors?).

The importance of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) cannot be over-emphasized. Implementing SOA will lead to applications that are well governed, can be shared, can grow and expand and are language independent. Such an application stack will be stable and more secure. Implementing SOA also ensures that you do not create silos in your application stack. Silos lead to wasted effort, duplication of data and restrict the growth of your applications. I have chosen to harp on the importance of good governance of your cloud based applications because of several reasons –

• If you were using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), you would be using well made application programs made by professionals. However, on the PaaS model, there is scope for improperly constructed applications.
• Following the PaaS model, you get a ready-to-use server platform of the configuration you want. After hiring such an instance, you still need to create the programs that will be used on this platform. Therefore, there is a need to write application programs.
• With a large number of tools being available, creating applications that reside on platforms you hire on the cloud is becoming easy. Just as a large number of visual programming languages created a breed of amateur programmers who could automate basic tasks with ease, it is becoming possible to create programs for use in the cloud that would perform most common functions with ease. Hiring of servers with specified configurations is not difficult at all. Therefore we are beginning to see many applications that do not follow strict rules of cloud-based application engineering and SOA.

Another important issue to be considered is the calculation of the Return on Investment (ROI). This is an important figure if you wish to expand your presence on the cloud. Once again, the PaaS model gives you certain responsibilities in this regard. Using the SaaS model will give you fairly well documented ROI figures. However, this is something that needs to be calculated for PaaS application stacks. Remember also that you would use Platform as a Service only if existing applications do not meet your requirements. Therefore you are faced with the problem of calculating the ROI of niche programs.

Cloud ROI is composed of 3 major benefit areas:

1. Cost Reduction
2. Productivity Enhancement
3. Revenue Transformation

Cost reduction -  in a typical case, the transition to a cloud resulted in the reduction of servers from 82 to 11. Racks reduced from 11 to 1, there were 50% savings in capital expenditure and 80% savings in operating expenditure. There is an immediate reduction in savings on personnel. This can be huge if you consider that more than two thirds of the IT budget is typically spent on manpower.  There are significant savings in power and cooling requirements as well.

Productivity enhancement – the cloud gives far greater stability as compared to on-premise hosted systems. The stability of applications improves and work gets done better. An extreme example is provided by super storm Sandy. While traditional, on-premise systems in affected areas had to shut down leading to major revenue loss, cloud based systems merely shifted their entire application stacks to data centers in other zones and continues operations without a glitch.

Revenue transformation – prior to cloud computing, most of your IT expenditure (less the manpower costs) was capital expenditure. In the cloud model, this is generally operating expenditure. In addition to this, the pay as you go model fits very well into the operating expenditure mold.

To summarize, using PaaS gives you the flexibility to create applications that fit your niche area perfectly. However, this flexibility  gives you scope to make mistakes and create inefficient code and silos.

Finally, calculation of RoI is a critical factor in the governance of your PaaS application stack. It brings in a more structured approach to writing applications.

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About the Guest Author:

Sanjay Srivastava has been active in computing infrastructure and has participated in major projects on cloud computing, networking, VoIP and in creation of applications running over distributed databases. Due to a military background, his focus has always been on stability and availability of infrastructure. Sanjay was the Director of Information Technology in a major enterprise and managed the transition from legacy software to fully networked operations using private cloud infrastructure. He now writes extensively on cloud computing and networking and is about to move to his farm in Central India where he plans to use cloud computing and modern technology to improve the lives of rural folk in India.

11.23.2012

The two main social gaming companies in Japan, GREE and DeNA, use a hybrid app and browser distribution strategy that allows them to avoid the popular app stores. This is especially interesting when we consider that DeNA and GREE use multiple platforms for their products. For example, GREE has browser-based products, which are among the most common in Japan for Japanese feature phones. However, it also has iOS and Android apps and browser-based games for multiple smartphones.

Why these companies avoid Western app and game distribution methods

Why do Japanese social gaming companies avoid the iPhone App Store and Google Play for their distribution strategies? The main reason is the thirty percent cut that Google and Apple take on all app sales. It also helps that Japanese iPhone users can even pay for games and other services directly through their carrier. This effort is worth it since the thirty percent tax Apple and Google charge applies over the revenue every one of their games and apps generates during its entire run! This kind of distribution strategy actually works well in Japan. The main advantages of this hybrid distribution model are:

1. Avoiding profit cuts from third party distributors.
2. Easier porting from one generation to another, allowing companies to bring back games that were a hit on older phones.
3. Browser based products allow easier cross platform gaming.

However, these companies have avoided using web-based distribution outside of Japan… until now. GREE recently announced that they will expand their platform’s compatibility with HTML5, a clear step in taking their hybrid distribution model outside of Japan. Although this may be part of an attempt of avoiding going through the Apple and Google distribution models, it may not prove successful for these companies when trying to reach an international market. Some market experts have expressed skepticism about this move, considering that HTML5 is not at a stage where it is practical or ready for gaming. Some of the most popular mobile games today require native apps due to the fact that a browser-based model simply cannot support them. In fact, in Japan the newest games are only in app form while those using browser based gaming are from previous generations rather than using cutting edge technology.

Why this hybrid distribution strategy may not work well outside of Japan

Many of the advantages for customers that apply in Japan may not be available on the international market if companies attempt to adopt this hybrid distribution strategy. One of the main obstacles that they would have to overcome is the fact that they came very late in the market. Although these companies promote the convenience of being able to pay for games through mobile carriers, most gamers outside of Japan are already accustomed to paying using the iPhone App Market or Google Play and consider it the most convenient and easy to manage option. These two companies already have millions of users and their credit card information in their files. In fact, Google already allows many of their customers to pay for their apps through their carrier in various markets such as the United States and Japan itself.

One of the main disadvantages for gaming companies wanting to use this hybrid model outside of Japan is that it means creating two versions of games when a single one can work. After all, it requires developing both an app version and a browser version of popular games. History is also not on their side. Despite the fact that this hybrid distribution strategy is highly effective in Japan, no mobile gaming platform has been able to make a dent in Apple and Google’s absolute domination of the market.

The fact that Japanese social gaming companies have also been slow to integrate Western social media networks into their platforms also works against them. It is also worthwhile to note that this move toward a hybrid distribution model draws unwanted attention from Apple and Google. By not recommending games using this model they are closing off millions of potential customers while at the same time making it more difficult for companies wanting to adopt this model to establish their hybrid distribution strategy successfully. It is important, though, to note that Western social gaming companies wanting to break into the Japanese market should be aware of the existence and advantages of this unique distribution model in Japan.

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About the Guest Author:

Nida Rasheed is a freelance writer and owner of an outsourcing company, Nida often finds herself wanting to write about the subjects that are closest to her heart. She lives in Islamabad, Pakistan and can be found on Twitter @nidarasheed.

11.22.2012

Every company, irrespective of its size or location, has loads of computing activities to undertake in order to maintain its business operations. This can include but are not limited to data entry, data processing, storage and retrieval. In more complex circumstances, it could involve data transmission, communication, customer/client services management, centralization of IT systems and network administration. Whatever these IT requirements turn out to be, the good news is that cloud computing has been identified as a technology for increasing companies’ computing powers.

A typical example of how this works can be seen in Zillow, a US real estate company that helps clients solve their real estate problems, which include finding homes, apartments, properties to rent or buy in some states in America, seeking advice on mortgage rates and interests, and requiring periodical communication in order to be aware of the latest developments in US real estate. Interesting enough, Zillow has been able to accomplish these tasks more efficiently than ever before due to its adoption of cloud technology. As a matter of fact, Zillow benefits from cloud computing in these two major ways explained below:

1. Handling of Big Data:–cloud computing facilitates better handling of big data in Zillow’s day-to-day activities. As a real estate company, Zillow is daily confronted with the challenges of managing huge data and information related to its increasing number of potential and existing clients, new apartments, houses and properties up for sales or rent, and the list of active clients that require regular communication and advice on how to maintain their properties. The process of managing such hefty data sets may be daunting and costly if Zillow has continued to rely only on its previous in-house IT infrastructures. However, the adoption of cloud computing has reportedly increased Zillow’s computing power by streamlining the processes by which important data are obtained, processed, stored, retrieved and transmitted on a regular basis.
2. Price Estimation:–Cloud computing assists Zillow in generating more accurate price estimates that add more value to the worth of the properties the company sells or rents out to clients. This is achievable due to the fastness or speed of internet connection that is guaranteed in the cloud, where almost system interruption is unthinkable or occurs in rare cases.

There are other positive impacts of improved or high computing power on business activities. Apart from the two main merits discussed above in relation to Zillow, companies can be rest assured that the quality of their operations will be optimized and maintained over a long period of time. In the absence of internet connection disruption, loss of data and human errors sometimes caused by in-house IT employees, companies can work towards achieving their expected profitability level and business success rates. They can improve the quality of services or goods they offer to their clients without having to spend more on their IT requirements.

As a matter of fact, businesses are adopting cloud technology in droves nowadays simply because of the promise of cost efficiency and high business performance. Funds that should have been squandered on hiring, training and maintaining in-house IT staff can be utilized to expand business activities and diversify business interests. Some companies that utilize cloud technology are able to increase their profitability projections for the years succeeding when they switched their daily operations to the clouds. This is because they do not have to spend much money on keeping their IT systems running, which are monitored and looked after by third-party cloud computing service providers. This smoothness of running one’s business without any observable hitch is transferable to the quality of services or goods that are delivered to the end-users or consumers. And this, without doubt, has a far-reaching effect on the issue of client relationship.

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About the Guest Author:

Jerry Olasakinju, a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree holder, is a passionate researcher and writer whose interest in everything computing is unparalleled. He blogs about his literary works at http://jerryolasakinju.blogspot.jp/

11.21.2012

For developers who want to enter the Japanese market, the good news is that with the use of Android and iOS apps, they would have an easier entry point. The reverse is also true: Japanese application developers are also now seeing this same situation as a way for them enter the worldwide market. This is just a side effect of market forces and an automatic reciprocity out of real world realities.

The fact is that Android and iOS are the new platform portals for entering almost any other country’s apps market. This is one example of a true world market with a central repository. In this case Google Play and the App Store have opened a flood gate for every developer to transact business anywhere in the world. The only thing that needs to be done is to develop an app which can be used and enjoyed by anyone, young and old alike.

Apps which easily come to mind are those for established browser based apps like Dropbox, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Seismic and Facebook. Other app which has crossed borders with great success is Angry Birds.

Japan has always been a very insular market. Even at the height of Nokia’s domination in the 3G phone market, they could not get a good foothold of the Japanese market. In fact, due to their poor performance, Nokia was forced to pull out of the Japanese market. They still sell phones in Japan, but they no longer support the market.

Entering the Japanese mobile app market is not that easy for foreign app developers. Besides the fragmented nature of the market, with lots of feature phone brands, there is also the matter of a portal or platform. Developers know that they need to localize and revise to the local culture. The fragmented market is a daunting hurdle because the developers have to change their apps for each feature phone.

At least that was true until this year. The sales reports for 2012 indicate that iOS and Android now account for the majority of sales in smartphones. With the dominance of Android and iOS, foreign developers now have an avenue where they can develop for the Japanese market on the two major platforms and can hope to be represented in the market without any need for further revisions to account for different hardware and feature phone operating systems. The familiarity with the tools for developing are a big help. That leaves the app developers with only the slight problem of localization and culturization for the Japanese market, which is a totally different concern.

Additionally, app developers who want to get into the Japanese market may skip the need for a Japanese mobile app portal like GREE and DeNA. They can instead rely on traditional strategies for marketing: social media and word of mouth. However, this approach might not be the best strategy when dealing with Japan. GREE, DeNA, and other mobile app portals are much more than just companies which push apps. In Japan, these companies do the same work for apps like Google Play and App Store as well as promote and run these in the same manner that Facebook and Twitter do in Western countries. For at least until the foreseeable future, these companies with their userbase would still control a big part of mobile app market in Japan.

The success of these companies can be seen in the way they monetize mobile apps, to the point that Japan is the second largest country when it comes to app monetization, and it ranks third in app download volume.

A reverse trend is inevitable. Japanese game and app developers can also use Google Play and App Store to sell their apps. It is no secret that Japanese game developers and app developers are a different breed. Coming from a very competitive market, and a marketing culture which is famous for being persistent and patient, Japanese app developers can wait a long time till the rest of the world starts to appreciate their style and genre of games.

For now, app developers from outside of Japan have a way to get into the Japanese market, and they should take advantage of it. Of course, it is not a simple matter of placing an app on App Store and Google Play. There is still the matter of support, and if there is a central database for social gaming, then a cloud hosting service is still required. Getting into the Japanese market just got easier, but with staying and competing, app developers need all the help they can get.

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About the Guest Author:

Rodolfo Lentejas, Jr. is a fulltime freelance writer based in Toronto. He is the founder of the PostSckrippt, a growing online writing business dedicated to producing top quality, original and fresh content. To know more about him, please visit www.postsckrippt.ca. Like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.