The complexity of modern information technology (IT) infrastructures has grown exponentially and changed the way software companies operate and deliver products and services. The days of a single application server and a simple delivery path are long gone. Today’s application development and delivery process can encompass multiple platforms, cloud vendors, code libraries and customer bases.
The focus on creating an engaging user experience and retaining customers has made it imperative that applications are always functioning properly and meeting business requirements. Therefore, IT teams are looking for effective solutions to ensure application availability.
The Complexity of Modern Infrastructures for Application Development
The complex nature of modern infrastructure has made it increasingly difficult for software developers and their ability to meet customer demands. Software development has evolved from producing monolithic solutions to the use of microservices. These microservices need to be integrated into a project and relied upon to produce expected results. This reliance introduces multiple potential failure points for a complex application.
Cloud-based infrastructure elements further add layers of complexity to application development. Software is no longer developed and kept resident on a physical server in an on-premises data center, therefore application components can be spread across multiple cloud platforms that need secure integration to achieve the expected outcome. While APIs make it very convenient to take advantage of software packages and extensions, they can further complicate efforts to develop and deliver reliable software on time.
The increased infrastructure complexity has a direct effect on application development and availability. The sheer number of connected parts complicates identifying issues and addressing them before they become business-impacting problems. Unexpected interactions between multiple systems can arise at any time. This can slow development and cause deadlines to be missed. In the worst-case scenario, customers are impacted by the inability to promptly isolate and resolve the root cause of problems with an application.
A Strategy to Tame the Complexity
It is beyond the capabilities of human technical resources to effectively monitor infrastructure components and quickly identify the cause of a problem. Developers need to take advantage of the advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to effectively address infrastructure complexity.
Organizations looking to adopt a strategy to tame infrastructure complexity should consider employing advanced software tools that address the following three factors.
- Observability: The first element that needs to be addressed is observability into the complete infrastructure. This initiative needs to go beyond the scope of traditional monitoring to encompass all connected aspects of the infrastructure to provide data for analytics.
- AI-based analytics: The wealth of data generated by the infrastructure observation platform needs to be analyzed quickly and effectively. AI-powered analytics can efficiently handle volumes of data and uncover insights that would be impossible using manual processes.
- Automated predictive healing: While identifying the root cause of an issue is important, infrastructure complexity and time constraints require an automated response. Using AI and ML technology, intelligent software solutions can rely on lessons learned to predict issues before they occur and correct the problem.
The complexity of modern infrastructure demands an innovative approach to maintaining application availability and customer satisfaction. Companies need to adopt the proper mindset and tools if they want to successfully overcome the difficulties of delivering and supporting applications using today’s complex infrastructures. For more information, check out our recent episode on YouTube where Girish Muckai, advisory board member at HEAL Software Inc., discusses the current state of application availability in SaaS platforms and shares his framework for understanding which can be implemented for a future-proof and robust operational paradigm for medium and large enterprises.