Best practices: Syncing platforms and development methods

It's good to keep best practices in mind when using PaaS.

App development is a critical part of today's IT environment. Please your users, and you can make solid connections. Therefore, it is important to make sure the practices of the development team and the technology available to it are well suited to one another. If you begin working in a new Platform-as-a-Service environment, you should ensure that your institutional rules set up the team to succeed. This point is explained in detail in a Progress whitepaper, but here are a few salient points to help you on your way.

Rapid application development practices Sometimes, technology is viewed as an automatic difference-maker. "If I add this product, things will get faster," unsuspecting IT directors may think. However, simply purchasing a tool is not enough. Users will need to compromise and to some degree alter their normal way of working. PaaS is no different. Moving software development into a specialized environment is a great idea, but it requires follow-up to truly excel.

For instance, while PaaS is easy to use, companies should resist the temptation to allow development entirely outside of IT supervision. Instead, it may be appropriate to take a "best of both worlds" approach, letting non-technical personnel contribute their time and effort to the project - but with enough guidance from IT to ensure that the result is compatible with the applications that have come before and will follow it. These overseers may also be able to help with security rule compliance.

Adopting the popular DevOps methodology could be another good idea for businesses that want to enjoy maximum returns from their PaaS solutions. Rather than passing a piece of software from developers to operations personnel, organizations that follow DevOps procedures are always testing and preparing their applications, which enables them to get projects to market faster and makes them ready to handle its iterations.

Of course, PaaS is a type of cloud deployment, and that means procedures may increase in scale without the addition of any on-site hardware or software. It's therefore a good idea to have a contingency plan in place and always be prepared for rises in the volume of activity occurring around a single application. Firms should prep for the average expansion that occurs after deployment and adoption, as well as for severe spikes in use and activity that could put the tool out of action if they are not managed correctly.

PaaS deployments, while not automatic cures for any slowness or trouble in app development procedures, can help firms excel if they are properly supported by best practices.