Speed has huge business value, especially in technology. Understandably, you want your custom software application to work as fast as possible. After all, it can significantly improve your processes, your users’ experiences, and positively impact your bottom line.
At Far Reach, we encourage our clients to take the time early on to think ahead because it adds value to the custom software development process and can save a lot of hassle in the future.
Plan Ahead With a Partner
Learn how to find a partner that will help you plan ahead for scalability and long-term success.
5-Year Vision, 1-Year Plan
Realizing you need custom software is the first step. Then comes the planning. This is the phase in which we encourage our clients to think not only about what is needed in the moment but also what will be needed in the future.
- Zoom Out: Think about your business in 5 years — where will it be and how will your custom software empower it?
- Zoom In: What do you need right now? These will be the first things we implement, so you can start using the application as soon as possible.
Our Agile/Scrum development approach helps us build applications that check both boxes: immediate usability with the ability to scale to meet your 5-year vision.
What Makes an Application Scalable?
Scalability refers to an application's ability to handle a growing amount of work, or its potential to be enhanced to accommodate that growth.
For business applications, you need two types of scalability:
- Vertical scalability (scaling up) → for instance, accommodating more users of the same kind
- Horizontal scalability (scaling out) → for instance, accommodating a different type of user
A quick example from our work: We have developed many applications where in the early stages (MVP), we focused on a single type of user: the client’s internal team.
However, many of our clients have a vision to eventually have their clients use the platform, too. So we make sure both types of scalability are available right from the start.
Build on Scalable Technologies from the Very Beginning
Choosing the right technology stack is crucial for scalability. Here are our recommendations for some technologies to consider:
1. The .NET Framework
The .NET framework, developed and managed by Microsoft, is a robust and versatile platform for building scalable applications. It supports a variety of programming languages and offers extensive libraries and tools for developers.
What we appreciate most about it are its cross-platform capabilities and the countless performance optimization options.
2. Cloud Services with Azure
Microsoft Azure provides a suite of cloud services that are ideal for building scalable applications. Azure offers:
- Compute Services: Virtual machines, app services, and the Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) all allow you to scale resources based on demand.
- Storage Solutions: Azure Blob Storage, SQL Database, and Cosmos DB are designed to handle vast amounts of data with ease.
- Networking: Azure's global network infrastructure ensures high availability and low latency for custom applications.
By leveraging Azure's scalable architecture, you can easily scale up or down based on your application's needs, pay only for what you use, and ensure high availability.
All of these are important to our clients, even the option to scale down. It’s not something people commonly think about needing to do, but it’s sometimes warranted and it’s better to be prepared for it in advance.
3 Best Practices We Use to Ensure Long-term Scalability
We’ve been refining our processes for more than 15 years, and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon. Right now, these are the five things we incorporate into all our development projects.
1. Architect for Scalability from Day One
Start with a scalable architecture. Microservices architecture, for instance, is a popular approach where applications are composed of loosely coupled services.
Each service can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently, providing greater flexibility and resilience. This way, the MVP can be ready to use as quickly as possible and, whenever you need to update part of your application, you won’t break anything that’s not directly connected to that part.
2. Database Scalability
Choosing the right database solution is so underrated, yet so important. For relational databases, consider using Azure SQL, which offers built-in scalability features.
For non-relational data, Azure Cosmos DB is an excellent choice with its global distribution and multi-model support.
3. Load Balancing
Implement load balancing to distribute incoming traffic across multiple servers. This ensures no single server bears too much load, improving application responsiveness and reliability.
Azure Load Balancer and Azure Application Gateway are tools that can help manage traffic efficiently.
Bonus tip: Do this even if you don’t expect vast amounts of traffic in the upcoming months. It’s an easy solution to implement and it can save you from having to deal with a crashed application later.
Planning for Future Growth
Scalability isn't just about handling current demands; it's also about anticipating future needs. Here are some strategies to future-proof your application:
- Modular Design: Build your application in a modular way so that new features and components can be added with minimal disruption.
- Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD): Implement CI/CD pipelines to automate testing and deployment so that new features and updates can be rolled out quickly and reliably.
- Monitoring and Analytics: Use tools like Azure Monitor and Application Insights to track performance metrics and user behavior. This data can provide insights into how your application is used and help identify areas for improvement.
Final Thoughts
At Far Reach, we don’t build “single-use” applications. We build applications that support your business goals for years to come and that can scale as your organization does.
This is what
custom software is all about. If you’re looking for a competitive advantage and something that will serve you for a decade or more,
reach out. We’d love to tell you more about our development process or help you decide if we’re the right development partner for you.