Even though the cloud has become the leading operational paradigm for businesses from all sectors, some independent software vendors (ISVs) still negate the enormous potential of the infrastructure in the tech sector. In the meantime, many software vendors have already made a head start into developing and deploying their solutions from the cloud. A big driver for the majority of those companies is the cost-effectiveness of the technology, combined with the scalability capabilities of cloud infrastructure from third-party vendors such as we-IT. Another major incentive for ISVs to migrate their software to the cloud has become customers and their growing demand for secure and easy deployment over the internet.

How do ISVs differ in their approach to cloud migration?

 

The software development market is big and varied. Based on the needs and receptiveness of ISVs to cloud technologies, we can separate the industry into three main categories. One is the software vendor that has many years of experience with development using legacy infrastructure, who often share some reservations for the cloud and making groundbreaking changes with their firmly established model. A lot of these companies can recognize the advent of cloud revolution in the ISV sector and the cost-saving benefits but their fear the transformation journey and how this could affect the entire development proceedings.

Another major group of software vendors uses a hybrid cloud approach by choosing to split their workload between public and private clouds. They have already seized the potential of the cloud and want to scale up their business by expanding on their customer base and saving time resources from managing their infrastructure in-house. These ISVs are inquisitive and always look for ways to improve their infrastructure in order to make their applications run smoothly with either deployment.

The last group is the cloud-native companies that are choosing the cloud as their primary development platform. A lot of the time these are start-up companies that don’t own their own infrastructure but they understand the capabilities of cloud technologies along with the tools they can use to make their development work perfectly, from A to Z. Based on your position with legacy and cloud-based technology, you can decide what to do further in your journey towards adopting cloud technologies and making it all work seamlessly both for your developers and customers.

What should ISVs consider when moving to the cloud?

Watch out for SaaS opportunities

 

As everyone knows by now, one of the main benefits to ISVs with regards to the cloud is the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. In the two main scenarios, you are either ready to SaaS-ify your legacy software, or you are happy to host your software on the cloud from the get-go and offer it as a service. Making your software available to the wider market takes the expertise of a trusted cloud provider and motivation to make the partnership work! All you need to do is power up your sales machine and watch for opportunities that will allow your capital to grow while you focus on your DevOps side, rather than maintaining on-premise infrastructure.

Security is your top priority

 

Anywhere in your cloud migration journey, cyber security must be your top priority. Whether you are at the lookout stage, in the transition move, or already on the cloud, you should always inquire about your security status and measures that you could implement to enhance your position on the cloud. Many ISVs these days have all it takes to build their applications on the cloud but they lack confidence in their cyber security skills and understanding of the best practices in this niche. For this instance, the best approach would be to find cloud specialists who can help with planning and implementing secure deployments from day one. At we-IT, we have a team of experts who are trained in the best practices to prevent & detect threats according to the latest cloud monitoring advancements by Microsoft Azure.

Inquire about licensing

 

It’s not uncommon to see ISVs that want to make a move to the cloud but worry about the licensing matter when it comes to a hybrid environment. Deploying your own software on a cloud can be tricky if you are doing the setup without the help of specialists who know the ins and outs of the cloud and the licensing aspect of it all. Our team at we-IT will handle the entire migration and deployment of your software so all of your concerns to do with distribution will be resolved by experienced professionals that have plenty of experience in dealing with hybrid environments and joint licensing issues. Always make sure to ask about this subject matter prior to migration if you want to be sure that your provider can respond with viable solutions, which work for your individual business model.

ISVs on the cloud is the way forward

 

Whichever way you come from as a software developer: full-on legacy infrastructure, cloud-native or hybrid environment, your positioning with cloud technology is quite important for you as a business. The cloud computing marketplace is growing by the minute and being able to glide along with the latest trends and customer demands is what will keep ISVs on the leading edge.