APPFORUM 2019 - Blog Series: Common Myths About Going Cloud - Part 2

                                                  Zebra’s Cloud Transformation is Game-changing for Developers

                                                          By Nathan Clevenger, Director of Portfolio Management

As I wrote about previously, Zebra is expanding to the level of the cloud. To learn why and what this means for developers, read here Part 1: What Zebra Going Cloud Means for Developers. Developers on the cutting-edge are already building architecture for cloud-based software. But traditional development may hold some reservations due to outdated myths.

As the global trend to develop applications for cloud services continues to grow, prevailing myths about cloud-based software and development are holdovers from when cloud technology was not as advanced as it is now. I address three of those myths here.

Myth: The cloud is not secure.
Reality: The cloud is as secure, or more secure than most on-premise solutions.

Countless articles have been written about the robust and reliable security of cloud-based software, especially as cloud technology has advanced rapidly over the years. Still, the question of cloud security remains for some.

Security awareness and development has gone beyond on-prem, local networks. In the past, security was considered a local, internal issue only. But now, security is an issue for everyone, within and outside local networks.

Cloud connectivity and APIs are designed with security from the start. Newer generations of developers understand this and are utilizing cloud, but it’s a challenge for a traditional developer mindset.  If cloud connectivity and APIs were not designed with security, then enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems would not be on the cloud. But they are. SAP, Oracle, Salesforce—these ERPs are completely cloud-based, and they would not be the global companies they are if their cloud-based systems were not secure.

A number of certifications have evolved over the years to ensure cloud-service providers meet security regulations and establish controls to protect the application, enterprise and valuable data such as PII (personally identifiable information).

The ISO 27018 certification, CSA STAR (Cloud Security Alliance Security, Trust & Assurance Registry), and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), plus industry-specific and local regulations are a few examples of the compliance requirements intended to keep cloud-services secure. If a breach were to occur, data encryption and corrective controls can mitigate or nullify potential impacts.

Myth: Because you can’t guarantee 100% connectivity with cloud, you can’t build reliable cloud apps.
Reality: Connectivity is manageable with cloud-based software.

It’s true that you can’t guarantee 100% connectivity with cloud, but because connectivity can be managed, it becomes a non-issue.

First, cloud connectivity is often becoming more reliable than internal, on-prem connections. How many times has it happened that your internal network connection goes down? And what do you do? You use your phone for connection, which is inherently cloud-based.

Secondly, innovations in cloud technologies allow developers to build architecture so that protocols work as soon as connectivity is re-established. For instance, you send a print job via a Savanna Data Services Print to Cloud APIs, and the print job will follow through as soon as your device is connected. The same goes for using Savanna Data Services APIs for Barcode Scanners, Recall Notification or Blockchain Traceability. Any action delayed because of connectivity can automatically complete once connectivity is established.

And because private cloud services use a network of enterprise remote servers which are specific to the cloud services company, users can avoid the congestions of the public internet when they are re-connected. That means as long as you have internet connection, the connectivity of a private cloud service tends to be faster than Google Drive or Dropbox (services the public can access for free by creating an account).

Myth: Cloud services are only for tech companies.
Reality: Cloud services can improve costs, efficiencies, and workflows for any company in any industry.

A few of the biggest reasons for going cloud are to reduce costs, increase efficiencies and simplify workflows. These impacts can benefit any company in any industry of any size.

Providers of cloud services utilize their own network of remote servers, which reduces a customers need for their own servers and other hardware. It also makes the applications, files and software available to the customer from virtually anywhere there is an internet connection. The results open up new opportunities to make workflow processes simpler and faster.

What company can’t benefit from all of that?

In the case of Savanna Data Services, our APIs are accessible via our 24/7 developers on this portal. Zebra APIs are entirely cloud-based, and they make it easier to develop cloud-based applications for a range of outcomes. Learn more at Savanna Data Services here.

Want me to address more myths? Have questions? Feel free to contact me at nclevenger@zebra.com.

You can also join me at Zebra's APPFORUM in Las Vegas, October 1-2, 2019. Register now!