Overview
“Transitioning to the cloud” is a phrase that we hear a lot these days and it implies modernization of Software Deployment architectures. During this rush to move applications to the cloud, it’s crucial to validate cloud readiness by addressing their risks, complexity and technical debt. For example, purely re-hosting your critical yet unhealthy applications from your current platform to another won’t make the applications any better. To utilize all the benefits of cloud, applications should be cloud-optimized, not lifted-and-shifted. Among other questions, how are companies accelerating the journey while limiting risk? And what is QA’s role in cloud migration and application modernization programs? Join this panel organized by the QA Financial group for the answers and a discussion about performing an MRI on your software to ensure its health before moving to the cloud. I will summarize my points of view in the remainder of this article broken down in to individual topics (segments).
Here are the panelists
Moderator: Alan Hanson, SVP, Head BFSI North America – CAST
Gerold Rajesh, SVP, Global Head of Quality and Release Management – Brown Brothers Harriman
Sumeet Mandloi, Director of Engineering – Dow Jones
Prashanth Batchu, WMA QA Governance/Associate Director – UBS
Introductions
How can we accelerate the Cloud journey, while limiting risk?
- Cloud native applications require their own architectural considerations, have their own performance characteristics and security implications. So DEV & QA organizations need to ensure that they understand the architectural implications and are able to develop robust testing plans for cloud native applications.
- Automated Quality assurance is a key requirement for Cloud native applications so that they can take advantage of the modern continuous Integration and cloud native delivery patterns.
“Infrastructure as Code” (IaC) implications, Container is the new deployment artifact
- With Cloud 2.0, we can re-engineer our solutions for regression and performance testing because by taking advantage of vast horizontal scaling capabilities.
- It allows creation of unlimited on demand environments with the ability to test each component in isolation.
- It opens up amazing opportunities in the realm of Performance testing as well. Not only will Developers & Quality Engineers be empowered, their role is going to expand beyond their traditional boundaries.
- With Cloud native continuous delivery design patterns, the Containers become the defacto artifacts for promotion to higher environments instead of a traditional JAR or a WAR file. This means that QA needs to certify the application, the deployment configuration, the SDKs and everything that goes into the container.
- Embracing a modular Micro service service architecture means splitting a Monolith application around product lines. So there will be relatively larger number of artifacts to test. This introduces new components in to the Architecture such as Log aggregation systems, load balances, API gateways, Ingress services. Now QA has to sign off on not just the services but everything else in the new architecture.
- Automated testing is a cornerstone of Micro service and Cloud Native architectures. There’s no way around it.
With Cloud 2.0, Container becomes the de facto artifact for promotion to higher environments instead of a traditional JAR or a WAR file
How can we re imagine Hiring and Training practices to facilitate a smoother transition to Cloud 2.0? How do Software Engineers influence non SWE teams?
- Test new recruits for core cloud competencies
- Route them through thorough training (Coursera has some great training programs for this)
- Make training mandatory for technologists at all levels, especially the senior and middle level leadership.
- Track the effectiveness of the training. Moodle offers a great way to create custom quizzes to ensure that training content is retained
- Training must be treated as a continuous journey. Add it to the yearly goals.
Q&A: How do Vendor managed Information Systems fit in to the world of Cloud 2.0?
Q&A: Do Cloud 2.0 implementations actually increase the costs for the business?
- With Cloud 1.0 and a “Lift and Shift” approach, costs usually tend to rise
- But embracing Cloud native architectures (Cloud 2.0), infrastructure utilization efficiency ratios go up immensely.
- Although Virtualization helps solve the nasty under utilization issues of Enterprise Hardware, Cloud 2.0 takes it to the next level.