Thinking Cloud Native: August 2021

Cloud native technologies — which are key for digital transformation efforts — enable enterprises to build and run scalable applications in dynamic environments. However, the shift to the cloud is just not about a set of technologies to adopt; it also reflects a significant change in an organization’s structure, processes, and culture.

What does it take to build future-proof, flexible, extensible infrastructures? How can a platform approach truly work for everyone? How can humans work together more effectively to achieve goals faster?

This stuff is complicated, but it matters.

This monthly list exists to share ideas and practices to help build sustainable, at-scale systems and explores ways to enhance developer happiness and velocity. We hope we can provide practical and useful insights into what effective teams are doing and that these topics will interest you—whatever your level of experience.

Histories, mysteries, and things to ponder

· The Evolution of Cloud Native Engineering

By Eric Newcomer, CTO, WSO2

This post looks at the origin and evolution of cloud-native computing, how it represents a generational shift in IT infrastructure construction, and why it requires a fundamental change in software engineering to achieve its full benefits.

· Rethink the Modern Application: How to Think Like a Cloud-Native Engineer

By Jason Bloomberg, Founder and President, Intellyx

This whitepaper details how cloud native computing reflects a change in an organization’s structure, processes, and culture. The author also discusses the five critical ‘mind shifts’ people need to undergo to gain an appreciation for the full import of cloud native.

· Modern CTO Podcast: Making Cloud Integration Easy

Episode #364 with Eric Newcomer, CTO, WSO2

In this episode, Eric discusses how to get comfortable being uncomfortable, how WSO2’s Choreo platform makes cloud integration easy, and the history of the cloud from invention to today.

· Building an Integrated Supply Chain for APIs

An apidays session by Asanka Abeysignhe, Chief Technology Evangelist at WSO2

Asanka proposes a new kind of supply chain - the Integrated API Supply Chain (IASC) - which is needed by any organization looking to create and monetize API products, either directly or indirectly. He outlines the vision of the IASC, identifies five key patterns for success, and gives a blueprint for creating a digital business based on API products.

Scaling and growth

· How Platforms Can Bridge The Low-Code And Pro-Code Chasm

By Asanka Abeysignhe, Chief Technology Evangelist at WSO2

This Forbes article discusses a platform approach to get more developers into software development and increase collaboration, productivity, and reusability. In doing so, Asanka also makes an interesting comparison between the software and movie industries.

· How to Make Low-Code Platforms More Effective for the Enterprise

By Asanka Abeysignhe, Chief Technology Evangelist at WSO2

The article discusses the five main limitations of low-code platforms and offers a clever solution that entails harnessing the most useful aspects of low-code platforms and making a textual representation of the graphical flow available to users as clean, readable code

Learn something new

· How to Integrate GitHub with Google Sheets in Five Minutes!

By Sachini Ranasinghe, Software Engineer, WSO2

This post utilizes Choreo, a low-code cloud native engineering platform, in the use case of generating an issue summary report for senior management.

· iPaaS for Mobile Developers

By Anjana Fernando, Director - Developer Relations, WSO2

We look at the requirements of typical mobile application development—specifically regarding handling backend business logic. The author shows how an iPaaS greatly reduces the burden put on the front-end developer by providing a mediation layer to integrate and orchestrate typical operations.

· Zapier vs. Choreo

By Anjana Fernando, Director - Developer Relations, WSO2

In this article, we will look at the main features of each platform, their approach in implementing workflows, and their strengths and weaknesses.

· gRPC: A Deep Dive into the Communication Pattern

Danesh Kuruppu, Technical Lead, WSO2

The author dives deep into these communication patterns and discusses the importance of each pattern as well as how to pick the right one, according to the use case.

Photo by "My Life Through A Lens" on Unsplash