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Line-of-business software, which as the name suggests is any specific application used in a particular niche or industry, can present a unique set of challenges when it comes to embracing cloud computing.
Unlike many mainstream applications, software developed for certain industries are often less likely to receive updates or patches from the software developer.
Industries such as construction, legal and veterinary practices and are all good examples of verticals that use specialist software developed specifically to meet their needs.
For businesses operating in the construction industry, ‘WorkflowMax’ and ‘Workbench’ are staples for managing productivity, jobs and projects. In law firms, ‘Infinitylaw’ is historically the practice management tool of choice, whilst veterinary practices tend to rely on VisionVPM.
Each of these tools is an example of custom niche software developed explicitly to match the needs and challenges of their target markets. The functionality offered is typically highly customised to the particular types of workflows common to each industry.
Wholesale changes to the way line-of-business software is designed to work are less likely than is typically the case with more recognisable ubiquitous products such as Adobe Acrobat, Apple iTunes or Norton Antivirus.
From a user perspective, this can be a blessing. It can be frustrating to get to grips with the new layouts of updated software versions.
From an architectural point-of-view, however, it can mean that businesses are using ageing applications that haven’t been designed with cloud computing in mind.
As we’ve already covered to some extent in discussing databases in the cloud, programs that utilise a high volume of database lookups can present significant challenges when it comes to cloud computing.
Determining the suitability of a particular software program for cloud computing needs to be done on a per instance, per client basis, due to the number of factors and subtle variables at play.
Whilst VPM Plus (veterinary practice software) certainly can be run on a cloud platform such as Azure, AWS or Google Cloud, there does tend to be a substantial volume of data stored within the back-end of this software.
One approach we might take is to recommend a ‘thin client’ solution, whereby inexpensive low-end workstations are utilised throughout the workforce. Thin clients are used exclusively to connect to a remote desktop server (RDS) in the cloud, from where the client runs the software.
Functionality is identical to the end user but data transfer and the database itself is kept exclusively within the cloud environment, instead of running laborious data-intensive connections between the cloud and each end user workstation, saturating your network and causing a heavy impact to the speed and efficiency of your organisation.
Use of thin clients may or may not be suitable for a particular business, dependent upon other challenges and needs, so this is just one possible option we would consider for a client.
One alternative approach we often recommend is to keep the database and all database activity for an application local (operating at the customer site), due to the sheer volume of traffic involved, whilst also ensuring that the database is replicated (backed up) regularly to the cloud environment.
We then provide a failover option for end users to connect to a Remote Desktop Services cloud server that connects to the last replicated database in the cloud, in the event of an outage locally making business-critical software unavailable.
In this example, response times during local outages will inevitably be slower, but the business critical software will still be available to use, whilst the on-site problem is being resolved. Once the local issues have been resolved, the cloud database intelligently synchronises back to the local database instance, to ensure data integrity, and the system fails back over to use the local solution, ensuring business continuity.
Finally, we may look at recommending migration away from the legacy line of business software to SaaS (software as a service) products designed for a particular niche, or for a particular business function.
Many SaaS products utilise their own cloud environments, meaning a custom cloud environment for your business (built on AWS, Google Cloud or Azure) might not even be necessary.
A great example of such a solution is Xero.
If your business uses legacy software for your accounting, such as Infusion Elite, it is extremely likely that once costs such as procurement of server hardware, ongoing backup solutions and licensing for the software itself have been accounted, the net expenditure will far exceed that your business could pay for per-seat licensing to use Xero, in the cloud.
Additionally, the likelihood is high that a cloud solution like Xero will also offer increased functionality and scalability for your business, that your legacy software simply can’t compete with.
Establishing whether there is a net benefit - in terms of increased functionality, speed or cost savings - will ultimately always inform our recommendation as to whether it’s worth moving a particular application or functionality into a cloud environment.
