April 02, 2023

4 ways to make monolithic enterprise apps feel cloud-native

Fortunately, all hope is not lost if you have an enterprise app you can't containerize or "microservices-ize." Even if you can't "break down your monolith"—to quote the standard advice about how to modernize legacy apps—there are many practical steps you can take to make legacy, monolithic applications look and feel (in most respects) like modern, cloud-native apps. ... Most enterprise apps are compatible with the cloud in the sense that you can host them on cloud-based virtual machine (VM) instances using services from different cloud providers. By taking advantage of cloud hosting for enterprise apps, organizations can also leverage cloud automation tools, such as autoscaling policies and rules that automatically start or stop VMs. Deploying enterprise apps in a highly scalable, automated manner becomes possible. ... Although configuring load balancers for enterprise apps hosted in the cloud is not a strict requirement, doing so can substantially improve application performance and reliability. Load balancers help direct requests at application instances best able to handle them. 

What is Event Sourcing Design Pattern in Microservice Architecture? How does it work?

Event sourcing is a design pattern that stores the state of an application as a sequence of events in the order that they occurred, rather than simply storing the current state of the application. In microservice architecture, this pattern can help in achieving better scalability, fault tolerance, and resilience. Here’s how it works:An event is generated whenever a change occurs in the system. The event is persisted to an event store, which is essentially a log of all events that have occurred in the system. The current state of the system can be reconstructed at any time by replaying all of the events in the event store, in the order that they occurred. Each service in the microservice architecture can have its own event store, which can be used to maintain its own state. Services can subscribe to events that are relevant to them and update their own state accordingly. By using event sourcing, it is possible to achieve better fault tolerance and resilience. 

Why Cloud Data Replication Matters

There are many reasons for building applications that understand replication, with or without cloud support. These are basic topics that any developer has had to deal with, but they are even more important when applications go global and/or mobile. Then they need ways to keep data secure and located efficiently. ... As you can see, data replication does not explicitly depend on using cloud resources. Enterprises have been using their internal networks for decades with some of the same benefits. But with the addition of cloud-based resources, the opportunity to have extremely high availability and performance is easier than ever. Traditional data replication has now been extended beyond just replicating from a PC to a network or between two servers. Instead, applications can replicate to a global network of endpoints that serve multiple purposes. Traditionally, replication was used to preserve data in case of a failure. For example, replicas could be copied to a node if there was a failure, but replicas could not be used directly by an application.

Composable Architecture - Part 1

Composable architecture refers to an architectural pattern that allows for the creation of systems made up of small, independent, and interchangeable components. These components can be developed and deployed independently and can be combined together to create new applications or features. In this way, composable architecture is similar to the concept of microservices, where a system is broken down into small, self-contained units that can be managed and developed independently. Today, using Module Federation, it is possible to go beyond micro services and enable independent product squats to build robust micro applications that can be composed into a seamless functionality for both retail and corporate banking clients. ... By using micro frontends, banks can break down their front-end application into smaller, independent components that can be developed and deployed independently. This allows product squads to work independently and develop micro apps that can be composed together on the front end to make it seamless for the banking customer. 

How to Become an Enterprise Architect

An enterprise architect must effectively serve as a central nervous system of the business, making sure its various organs operate in a greater harmony – even when these local channels are out of communication with each other. As you might expect, this almost always comes down to a continuous stream of meetings that scale anywhere from big-picture issues like roadmap orientation and long-term strategies to more nuts-and-bolts implementation and putting out fires. ... While the broad skill set and think-outside-the-box mindset entailed in the job allows for some degree of flexibility, recruiters for potential enterprise architects typically look for an undergraduate degree in computer science or related discipline. Enterprise architects with a master’s degree will have even more solid prospects. Job candidates are expected to have a minimum of five years in the IT field – preferably a decade or more. ... As enterprise architects continue to become more sought after, an aspiring professional will benefit from a resume with certification in skills that custom-fit the position in question.

Tracking the Evolving Cybersecurity Jobs Landscape for 2023

For someone who is looking to start out in cybersecurity, a direct admit role to security is rare, especially as it bypasses the potential growth and opportunities to learn from other positions. Combs recommends finding a path through systems administration or another foundational area that provides contextual information to build on. “You can’t protect an entity if you don’t understand the systems that comprise the entity,” he says. Even as professionals become more experienced in cybersecurity, they must remain committed to their specialization with or without constant acknowledgment of their success. ... “On your best day, nothing happened. And then on your worst day, one shift where something happened, everybody’s like, ‘Why did you let this happen?’ But you’re like, ‘Nothing happened all those other days!’” With more open-source learning and professional development resources available than ever, Combs advises up-and-coming professionals to take advantage of all of them, but advises against bootcamps that make assertions of guaranteed employment.

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