Platform as a Service (PaaS) has been very successful with the DevOps community due to a strong alignment with the requirements of the software developer mindset. PaaS eliminates system administration tasks like configuration management, capacity planning, software updates, and security hardening that typically slow down enterprise application deployment schedules. Getting rid of these tasks provides gains in operational efficiency because applications are brought to market sooner thanks to streamlined application development, testing, and implementation. Another inherent advantage of adopting PaaS is being able to test your applications ability to dynamically scale through auto-scaling. Modern applications must not only handle aggregate sustained workload transactions but marshal resources when peak bursts occur and return those resources when the workload normalizes. Achieving this application scalability is difficult, if not impossible, using traditional or legacy on-premises platforms. This is one of the primary driving factors behind the greater adoption of cloud platform models, which minimize cost and complexity for the IT organization and drive greater operational efficiency.
Applications like email, collaboration tools, and CRM systems are well-suited for cloud deployment platforms. Some of the best-known examples are SaaS models like Office 365 and Salesforce.com. As we review the broader application spectrum, most enterprise customers report they are only just beginning their journey to the cloud. What factors contribute to this slower rate of cloud adoption?
For on-premises applications where low-latency, localized data processing, and data residency requirements have dictated legacy-style platform solutions, cloud service providers have introduced a new platform model to deliver cloud solutions that expand beyond the boundaries of the traditional on-premises environments to include metro and 5G networks, which can now address edge and IoT markets.
Last year AWS launched a new service called AWS Outposts, which addresses three primary customer challenges:
- Simplify IT – Deliver an on-premise PaaS platform that provides a fully-managed infrastructure that increases IT operational efficiency and improves responsiveness and alignment with business needs.
- Amplify Application Development – Provide the same AWS API, console, tools, and partner solutions as traditional AWS services for a unified application deployment experience.
- Enable IT – Accelerate the pace of business innovation.
The AWS Outposts platform is the same solution used today to power the AWS global infrastructure. The compute, storage, and network components are enclosed within an industry-standard 42U rack. It is a fully assembled, floor tile-ready solution that requires only power and network provisioning to become operationalized. The redundant architecture provides for high reliability and a hands-free serviceability model. Security is an integral aspect of the AWS Outposts architecture with built-in tamper detection, data encryption, hardware security keys, and encrypted network connections to illustrate a few examples of the shared responsibility security model promoted by AWS.
This is where the strategic partnership between Veritas and AWS complements the solution. Veritas NetBackup has provided day-zero support since the launch of AWS Outposts, providing enterprise backup and recovery of mission-critical application workloads like Oracle, SQL server, and filesystem. Veritas also provides additional benefits with the integration of Cloud Point for orchestration and automation of snapshot management to support RDS application workloads. NetBackup Resiliency complements the solution offering by providing these key customer benefits:
- Virtual Business Services (VBS) – Blueprints for multi-tier applications that enable simple migration from legacy platforms to Outpost
- Resiliency Plan – Migration runbook that automates the workflow and steps required to perform a migration
- Near-Zero Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and low Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
- Non-Disruptive Rehearsals
- Reporting and Risk Insights
NetBackup Resiliency offering is not only bundled within NetBackup but provides a common platform for helping customers expedite application workload migration to the AWS Outposts platform.
AWS Outposts delivers the same fully managed infrastructure, services, tools, and APIs used today in the public cloud, which provides customers with the same experience on-premise that simplifies your IT model, amplifies your development productivity, and accelerates your cloud journey.
Check out the following links to jumpstart your cloud journey today:
https://www.veritas.com/partners/aws
https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2020/09/aws-outposts-ready-partners/
Check back soon for another blog where we will discuss the importance of business continuity, application resiliency and how Veritas can help deliver a better AWS Outposts deployment that drives business outcomes which support your mission-critical applications.
