Read on: https://yourstory.com/2017/04/serverless-computing/.

A few months back as part of 'Architect Roundtables', we had tabled the same very topic and the discussions were great. In the last few weeks, a colleague of mine (Srikantan) and I managed to put together our thoughts in the form of an article.'Open Source for You' magazine (print and online) found it worthy of publishing for the larger benefit of cloud practitioners.  

If you are an Architect (or even a developer), and considering Cloud, below should be a good start.

"A Practitioners Guide to Moving to the Cloud"

http://opensourceforu.efytimes.com/2016/02/a-practitioner%C2%92s-guide-to-moving-to-the-cloud/

PS: Our intent it to make it an exhaustive collation. If you think we should add any particular guideline, please leave you comment and will be happy to consider.

http://1drv.ms/1S1nEsp

I went in a little early to take note of what other speakers are sharing and 2 key aspects were established before I took stage

1. We got to Stop 'Web vs. Native' war and this was told in the context of how we have come a long way in building native ahead of pure play responsive web experience. It does not make practical sense to debate anymore was the take away. In fact on the same stage 18 months back, while I was delivering a talk at an IEEE event, many e-comm players alluded to focus on 'Responsive Web' so that it works on mobile form factors too. On this very day, it was heartening to note that the pendulum has swung to the complete opposite side to indicate that 'Native' offers better experience and leads to superior connect with the consumers.

2. There is no better time to be a developer.Yes! This is true and evident with so much happening in the tech. world with significant investment in R&D leading to path breaking platform innovation

The above 2 points did set the stage for me to drive the messaging I intended to during my talk titled 'Mobility Platform that Knows No Boundary'. 

In 20 mins, I went over the following key topics

• Fact that we live in a 'Mobile First Cloud First World, and how 'India' is truly becoming a 'Mobile First/Only' market
• Little history of how our platform has evolved to address 'Cross Platform'
• One Windows Story - How with Windows 10, we have arrived on a landscape that helps one build apps which can run on any platform (Windows, iOS, Android) and any form factor (Platform Convergence) 
• Why it is essential to build for all platforms in this consumer driven market

You can take a look at the slides here.

Finally, talks are meaningless if attendees do not reciprocate. Standing on stage for 20 minutes, I realized that 

• Many did subscribe to the fact that 'Mobility of Experience' matters more than anything else
• And attendees did get to understand the 'One Windows' story 

As a Platinum Sponsor, it was worth our participation and will look forward for MODS 2016.  

The trends are many and outcomes are multifold. What stands out to me is the emergence of a trifecta effect of ‘Devices’, ‘Connectivity’ and ‘Services’. We are witnessing a clear culmination of these three areas each complementing one another. ‘Connectivity’ is the heart of this phenomena which bridges ‘Devices’ and ‘Services’. For a tech powered start-up, ‘Connectivity’ functions as the pulse or heartbeat of their business. Today, for a start-up, ‘Cloud’ clearly provides the operating ground, where there is unlimited compute and choice. Scale and economics are key levers, which decide the direction in which the business is heading.

Let us rewind to same time a decade back. For a technology powered start-up, putting together infrastructure of any scale was a daunting task. Hosters provided space, power and hardware, while the overhead of infrastructure management, scale and ensuring availability of base foundation formed the bulk of operating expenses. In addition, every aspect of what a hoster provided, had a sealing despite having the required capital. For a start-up, while a big ask comes in the form of Capital investment, operating expenses were no less. Whether the defined infrastructure was optimally kept busy or underutilized, operating expenses were not metered. Today, businesses are born at the click of a button and they are up and running the next hour. They are truly ‘Born in the Cloud’ where they have choice, freedom and does address economics at scale. New Services are born each day and we also witness service acquisitions if and when differentiated solutions are found to be complimentary or extension to the core service of a business.

Public Cloud has taken off and is considered to be the new tarmac for businesses to leap forward. India has seen Microsoft announce the commencement of a Public Cloud offering (Data Centers) and others in the foray are following suite. Building Data Centers and offering unlimited compute and related services requires significant investments and global public cloud vendors are putting India on the global map. While it has just begun with Microsoft, got to wait and watch on who will set their foot on this trail. End of the day, this a big boon for any business who rely on technology/compute infrastructure. On the other hand, this development is definitely a wake-up call to Govt. and financial services industry who are bound by regulatory and compliance.

With the surge in # of businesses sprouting across the country, the question that comes up is of feasibility and economics. For a start-up, the scale and economics go hand in hand. No one should consider or embrace cloud because it is cheap. I read a Gartner article which positions # of myths people have on Public Cloud and businesses embracing cloud because it is cheap is considered one of them. The article goes onto indicate that a CXO who considers cloud to be cheap and hence has adopted will soon realize that it was a career limiting decision. Well! While cloud is definitely economical considering GTM, other tenets like ‘Hyper Scale’, ‘Elasticity’, ‘Availability backed by SLAs’ etc overshadow just the cost. Hence the need of the hour is to look at cloud holistically and consider tenets which favor the operating model of a business beyond simply the cost.

Considering the trifecta effect (Devices’, ‘Connectivity’ and ‘Services) indicated earlier, ‘Service’ enablement is key and ‘Cloud’ has a critical role to play here. This is a huge opportunity for tech powered start-ups/businesses to leap frog into the minds of ‘Consumers’. Public Cloud momentum has just begun and here to stay as a host for life.

“Result” is the most overwhelming term that is seeded into the ears of individuals very early in life. It is frightening to many and inspiration to many others. Fortunately or unfortunately, the only measurement of success in today’s fast paced world is ‘Result’. Stock value ticks up or down based on quarterly ‘Results’. Bonuses and Increments come individuals way based on ‘Results’. Every decision we take in our lives is a reflection of ‘Results’ at a point in time.

Keep an eye on the outcome, but worry less and focus on the process leading to ‘Results’. A key lesson and a trait to follow at every facet of our personal and professional life.

1. Learn on the job-> Best way is to build expertise while on project. Many might not get an opportunity to do so with majority still at the verge of embracing cloud. Under circumstances option 2 is the only means

2. Certification -> This is a great means to demonstrate readiness and expertise on a subject.

I had the opportunity to prepare and did take up certification last week. While the outcome was positive (aka Pass :-)), what makes me feel good is about the overall prep work that went behind.

Few tips that you can consider while you prepare for any certification

• Plan your time for prep and don't rush in
• Feel good about the stuff you know and comfort level you have on the subject rather than the outcome being positive

Clearing a certification is a big confidence booster, but clearing an 'exam somehow' should not be the intent.

End of the day, what is valued more is the knowledge you posses and certification is just a stamp to indicate that you know the subject. How much and to what depth is in your own hands...

Visit this URL for more details on Azure Certification -> https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/azure-training.aspx