Musato Technologies Blog

Private cloud

Published March 7, 2018 | By Gideon E. M

Private cloud (internal cloud or corporate cloud)

Private cloud is a type of cloud computing that delivers similar advantages to the public cloud, including scalability and self-service, but through a proprietary architecture. Unlike public clouds, which deliver services to multiple organizations, a private cloud is dedicated to the needs and goals of a single organization.

As a result, private cloud is best for businesses with dynamic or unpredictable computing needs that require direct control over their environments, typically to meet security, business governance or regulatory compliance requirements.

Private cloud vs. public cloud vs. hybrid cloud

There are three general cloud deployment models: public, private and hybrid.

A public cloud is where an independent, third-party provider, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure, owns and maintains computing resources that customers can access the internet. Public cloud users share these resources, a model is known as a multi-tenant environment. Continue reading →

Posted in Cloud Computing, cloud network services, Cloud Storage | Tagged cloud computing, Cloud Storage, Computer Storage, Private cloud, Storage

Hard Drives replacement

Published February 28, 2018 | By Gideon E. M

Intel expects hard drives to be replaced by SSDs and cloud storage

Intel’s master plan involves replacing local storage with Optane and putting “bulk storage” SSDs into the cloud. Intel plans to hit the hard drive harder with its one-two punch of Optane and NAND SSDs this year: The goal is to knock local storage entirely out of the PC, and into the cloud.

Intel certainly has plans for its SSD business, including adding 1TB and even 2TB capacity points to products like its 760P SSD. But so does everyone else. The more interesting question is what Intel will do with its nearly unique Optane technology, and how it will convince users that it’s worth the investment.

Optane occupies a unique niche between a hard drive and DRAM, and originally served as a caching technology for hard drives or SSDs. The first Optane memory gave way to larger, bootable Optane-powered SSDs like the 900P SSD, at 280GB and 480GB capacities. Quick SSDs have become a preferred upgrade for notebook PCs, but Intel has yet to make Optane mainstream.

Intel hopes to begin changing that with the launch of products like the Optane 800P, a rather small 58GB/118GB M.2 Optane SSD announced at CES. It will begin shipping this month, according to Rob Crooke, who oversees nonvolatile storage products for Intel. In the future, Intel could even combine Optane memory and SSD. This year, Intel will release Optane within a DRAM form factor for the data center, Crooke said, a signal that Optane as a memory technology will eventually make its way into client PCs. Continue reading →

Posted in Cloud Computing, cloud network services, Cloud Storage, Network-Attached Storage | Tagged Cloud, cloud computing, Cloud Storage, hard drives, hard drives replacement, SSD Storage

Simplify Enterprise mobile app development

Published February 26, 2018 | By Gideon E. M

Simplify mobile app development for the enterprise

Without the right resources, app dev can be complicated. Start out the process on the right foot and have all the best tools in your arsenal to avoid an enterprise mobile app development dilemma.

Enterprise mobile app development can be an expensive, complicated process — or a relatively cost-effective and simple endeavor.

Here are some tips to ensure that your organization’s app build falls in the latter category.

Make core decisions first

It can be intimidating to begin mobile app development for an enterprise, but making a series of decisions early on offers an approachable first step into the process. Determine which devices the app will support and whether the app will be native, hybrid or web-based.

Developers have to build native apps from scratch, so they are, therefore, more complicated and costly to build, but generally perform better than other app types. Web-based apps are simpler and cheaper to build, and hybrid apps fall somewhere in between. Like web apps, hybrid apps can use open standard technologies — but they can also take advantage of a device’s native features.

To cut costs, make a plan

If you jump the gun with mobile app development in the enterprise, it could lead to costly dead ends and unforeseen mistakes. Instead, plan out your app by sketching workflows and interfaces before you write any code. Device templates such as Interface Sketch offer a less intimidating way to approach the planning stage. Continue reading →

Posted in Application Development, Applications, Apps, IT, IT Services, Mobile app development, Mobile application, Mobile Apps, Mobility, Musato Technologies | Tagged Applications, Mobile a, Mobile App, Mobile App Development, Mobile Application Developers, Mobile Applications, Software

Mobile Application Delivery

Published February 24, 2018 | By Gideon E. M

Mobile Application Delivery: The Next Frontier

With the influx of mobile devices and applications entering enterprises, IT departments have a new mandate: to securely and efficiently deliver reliable applications to end users.- Mobile Application Delivery

App Delivery Poses Mobile Management, Security Challenges

The consumerization of IT, including the bring your own device trend, has forced enterprises to reexamine how they provide access to corporate applications and data. Employees are more comfortable finding and using apps and storing data in the cloud, but IT administrators still need to maintain proper control and regulatory compliance.

Application and desktop virtualization, BYOD and the cloud all promise to make admins’ lives easier, but IT must first determine how applications will be delivered, how mobile apps and devices will be managed, and how to maintain security amid a diversifying IT landscape. This updated handbook looks at the best approaches to take when delivering mobile applications.

In this blog post, consultant Robert Sheldon examines options for mobile application delivery. App stores, private clouds, Web apps and desktop virtualization each offer different pros and cons, but you’ll have to weigh ease
of management and security for your own environment. Continue reading →

Posted in Application Development, Applications, Apps, IT, IT Services, Mobile app development, Mobile application, Mobile Apps, Mobility, Musato Technologies | Tagged Application Developmentt, Mobile application, Mobile application delivery, Mobile Apps

Building a multi-cloud app

Published February 21, 2018 | By Gideon E. M

Build a multi-cloud app with these four factors in mind

A multi-cloud strategy reduces vendor lock-in and outage risks. But to cloud app realize those benefits, development teams must first design apps to successfully run on various platforms.

In software development today, the cloud is a fact of life. And, increasingly, enterprises plan their application architectures across multiple public cloud providers, rather than just one.

A key driver behind multi-cloud adoption is increased reliability. In 2017, Amazon’s Simple Storage Service went down due to a typo in a command executed during routine maintenance. In the pre-cloud era, the consequences of an error like that would be relatively negligible. But, due to the growing dependence on public cloud infrastructure, that one typo reportedly cost upwards of $150 million in losses across many companies.

A multi-cloud app — or an app designed to run on various cloud-based infrastructures — helps mitigate these risks; if one platform goes down, other steps in to take its place. Continue reading →

Posted in Application Development, Applications, Apps, Cloud Computing, Creating App, IT, IT Services, Mobile app development, Mobile application, Musato Technologies | Tagged Apps, cloud app, cloud applications, Software developers, Software Development, Software engineering, software engineers

Database automation

Published February 20, 2018 | By Gideon E. M

Database automation drives DevOps into the persistence layer

The adoption of highly scriptable cloud-based technologies, along with the emergence of continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) tools, has created an environment in which every operations process should be scriptable and all manual processes targeted for database automation. Organizations with a DevOps approach to application lifecycle management should automate every process imaginable, but they often hit a wall when they reach the persistence layer. Emerging technologies have the potential to make that limitation disappear.

Apply DevOps lessons to database release management

“Database release automation is a real problem,” Datical CTO Robert Reeves says. “You’ve got lots of great ways of automating the application and provisioning servers. But we are still asking DBAs [database administrators] to just work faster, work harder, as they do manual updates.”

So, why can’t we take the lessons we learned from Agile or the progress DevOps has made and apply them to the persistence layer?

“Because of state,” Reeves explains. Unlike applications, a database can’t simply be deleted and recreated on the fly as though you were deploying and undeploying a microservice packaged in a Docker container. “You can’t just zap it.” Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Database, Database Management, Enterprise Software | Tagged Data, Database, Database application, Database automation, Musato Technologies

Accounting Software Solutions for SMEs

Published February 19, 2018 | By Gideon E. M

Accounting Software Solutions for SMEs: Cloud vs Local

According to a report by Small Business Advocate, of all the companies in the US, 99.7% are small businesses, and that number’s not at all surprising.- Accounting Software Solutions

Small businesses — also known as small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs — are the backbone of any economy, but they also face some of the most difficult challenges in their day-to-day operations. Challenges such as targeting new customers while retaining current ones, raising brand awareness, finding competent and motivated employees and much more are a daily struggle. And they have to do all of this while keeping a finger on the pulse of the current trends and technologies in their industry.

Still, one of the biggest problems businesses face is cash flow issues. While sometimes that’s a result of economic downturn, more often it’s caused by poor planning within the company.

That’s why professional accounting software solutions for small business is in such high demand. Many savvy small business owners are realizing that in order to ensure steady growth of a business, they must utilize professional accounting help. Continue reading →

Posted in Accounting Services, Accounting Software, Application Development, Applications, Apps, Cloud Computing | Tagged Accounting Software, Accounting Software Systems, Applications, Business Software, Musato Technologies, Software

Technologies disruption in 2018

Published February 17, 2018 | By Gideon E. M

12 technologies that will disrupt business in 2018

From artificial intelligence to augmented reality, these dozen disruptive technologies and trends will begin driving how business gets done at forward-thinking organizations this year. – Technologies disruption

In 2018, disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and computer vision are maturing, going from game-changing ideas to foundational tools for business. This year, we’ll see these and other technologies drive how business gets done and what new products will launch in the near future.

To get a sense of what’s ahead for this year, we looked at the technologies experts say are most likely to affect a wide variety of organizations as they undergo digital transformations. Pros in these fields gave us their top picks for what should be on your radar, as well as some insight into the implications of adopting these new technologies.

Smart health tech

Last month, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase announced a joint venture with a focus on using technology to offer their employees and their families “simplified, high-quality and transparent healthcare at a reasonable cost.” Health insurance stocks dropped on the news, as industry watchers theorized how new technology might broadly affect health care.

Some analysts see gains already being made in preventative care. In 2018 Tech Market research firm ABI forecasts that businesses will widely adopt remote patient monitoring, with 18 million wearables incorporated into corporate wellness programs. The firm predicts that number to jump to 44 million by 2021. Continue reading →

Posted in IT, IT Services, Software As A Service, Software Design, Technology | Tagged ICT, IT, Musato Technologies, Technologies, Technologies disruption

Mobile app development

Published February 15, 2018 | By Gideon E. M

The changing shape of mobile apps

In the mobile device world, there is no such thing as one size fits all. Although just two mobile platforms dominate the market today – Android and iOS – applications will need to work well on devices of all shapes and sizes, from the sleekest smartphones to the bulkiest tablets.- Mobile app development

Apps might also need the ability to support new classes of a mobile device as and when they take off, such as smartwatches or augmented reality viewers such as Microsoft’s HoloLens. And the explosion of fixed and mobile connected sensors and appliances – the internet of things (IoT) – opens up countless opportunities
to develop ever more useful mobile apps that control and/ or communicate with these devices to enable innovative capabilities and services.

So how do organizations achieve the agility they need to develop useful and compelling mobile apps and services, in a timely and repeatable way, that continually delight customers? Should they opt for cross-platform web apps or create separate native apps for Android and iOS, optimized for different-sized devices? And what is the best way to organize development teams and processes? Among those at the forefront of mobile innovation, opinions on the most productive approaches to mobile development vary, but it is possible to draw out some common threads.

Native versus cross-platform apps – Mobile app development

On the question of whether it is better to develop native apps or go for a cross-platform approach, there is no right or wrong answer – it depends on the business’s needs and its customers’ preferences. Many organizations deploy both.

Innovation consultant Nick Lansley spent three decades at Tesco, including over 10 years as head of research and development and latterly as head of open innovation at Tesco Labs. Having talked to many customers, he believes that although there are pros and cons to both the native and cross-platform approaches, native apps generally offer
the most advantages for retailers. Continue reading →

Posted in Mobile app development, Mobile application, Mobile Apps, Software Design, Software Designing Tools, Software Development Tools | Tagged Mobile App Development, Mobile app development in Durban, mobile app development in South Africa, Mobile Applications, Software developers, Software Development

Software engineering that spurs innovation

Published February 10, 2018 | By Gideon E. M

How component-based software engineering spurs innovation?

Demands for digital transformation in business may ring hollow to some architects. However, componentization can play a key role in making business innovation a reality. – Software engineering

Architects and developers have too many priorities and too many high-level goals as it is. The introduction of broad business imperatives, such as application modernization and digital transformation, do little to create a technical approach or define a software architecture.

The best way to really approach these demands is to get your terms straight, frame applications along modern cloud component lines, introduce component-based software engineering to make processes match business needs and recognize productivity and technology trends as equals.

The strategy – software engineering

A primary technical step in creating a business transformation bridge is to focus on component-based software engineering, part of which involves having a componentization strategy. Componentization is driven by two forces: functional requirements from the business transformation side and technical requirements from the application modernization side.

The functional side of componentization is created by the tasks workers perform and the application tools they use. The goal of functional componentization is to create components at the highest level and avoid a specialization of functions that limit sharing components among applications. Continue reading →

Posted in Software Design, Software Development, Software Development Tools, Software-as-a-Service | Tagged Apps, Information Technology, IT, Software Development, Software engineering