Cloud computing has exhibited its potential to empower technology by providing scalable, and customizable resources to organizations. Cloud computing has made it possible to avail costly resources to organizations with lower investment and higher Returns on Investment. It has also impacted mobile applications and made them rum smoother and seamless.
What is Mobile Cloud Computing?
Mobile cloud computing is an integration of cloud computing in mobile app development. It uses the paradigm of cloud computing to develop mobile applications that are better in scalability, security, and accessible from any device. Mobile cloud applications are easier to build as it enables developers to share resources. These applications do not depend on the operating systems and can be run on any operating system.
What are Mobile Cloud Apps?
Cloud apps are applications that work on the cloud computing paradigm and run on an external server through a mobile device. These applications are written in a multi-tenant architecture and use cloud resources to store and extract data. Cloud mobile apps are a lot similar to mobile web apps and development concepts and functionalities but vary in scalability and security. Cloud-based mobile applications provide better scalability and security due to the potential of cloud computing. Cloud mobile apps are device independent and can be downloaded and accessed through any device with the correct credentials. A native application is written to be run on a dedicated environment while a cloud mobile application is written to run on virtual servers.
Types of Cloud Mobile Applications
The cloud mobile applications can be categorized into the following three categories-
SaaS
SaaS is the most common cloud-based mobile application. Common examples are Gmail, Grammarly, etc. These mobile apps can be used without concern about storage or license purchase. The majority of cloud mobile apps used are SaaS applications.
PaaS
Some common examples of PaaS are OpenShift and Google App Engine. These mobile applications only need application code from the developer. There is no need to manage hardware and equipment acquisitions.
IaaS
In Iaas applications, developers provide the application and middleware that connects the application to the operating system of the device. The middleware simplifies the development and provides extended features to the devices. IaaS Mobile cloud application examples are Google Compute Engine, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure.
How do cloud-based mobile apps work?
In a cloud-based mobile application, the interaction device can be a mobile phone with any operating system. The data workload is shifted to the cloud which enables the application to run seamlessly. The cloud-based mobile applications are the most suitable choice for an application that uses real-time data interaction.
Benefits of cloud-based mobile apps
Mobile app development is leveraging the benefits of cloud computing in many ways. Integrating cloud computing methodology in mobile application development expands the potential of mobile applications. Following are the most common benefits of Cloud mobile applications.
Platform Independent
Cloud-based mobile applications are platform-independent. These applications can be run on any operating system.Faster Development
Being platform independent, it does not require developers to develop apps separately for android and iOS saving development time.
Low cost of development
A single application is always cheaper than two applications. A cloud-based app saves the cost of maintenance.
No Installation
Cloud mobile applications can be run directly on the mobile browser and do not need any installation. These apps interact with the cloud to fetch data through the browser and hence run smoothly.
Scalability
Scalability is the top feature of cloud services. It is easier in cloud mobile applications to add features, and new elements and fix bugs.
Conclusion
A cloud mobile application approach has transformed the way mobile applications used to work. It has many benefits over a native application and provides better scalability than a native application. Being run on a browser, it provides seamless interaction with data and enhances the user experience.
FAQs
-
What is cloud computing ?
Cloud computing works by enabling client devices to access data and cloud applications over the internet from remote physical servers, databases and computers.
-
What is the use of cloud computing ?
Cloud computing whether we like it or not is here to stay in one form or another. Everyday life activities such as Banking, Email, Media Streaming, and Ecommerce all use the Cloud.
-
What is meant by mobile cloud computing?
Mobile cloud computing (MCC) is the method of using cloud technology to deliver mobile apps. Complex mobile apps today perform tasks such as authentication, location-aware functions, and providing targeted content and communication for end users.
-
Do mobile apps use cloud?
Developers build and update rich mobile apps using cloud services and then deploy them for remote access from any device
