Exclusive Data Reveals Key Technology Insights from Leading-Edge Organizations Who Build, Run and Secure Mission-Critical Modern Applications Running in Amazon Web Services
Important Findings Include `Double-Digit Adoption of Docker and AWS Lambda; NoSQL Outpaces SQL; a New Security Paradox Emerging
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Nov. 15, 2016 – Sumo Logic, the leading cloud-native, machine data analytics service, today released a first-of-its-kind ‘State of Modern Applications in AWS Report’ to provide new data-driven insights and best practices to help companies build, run and secure their modern applications more effectively. Based on active data from more than 1,000 customers using Sumo Logic’s machine data analytics platform, the report delivers rich analysis of technology adoption among industry leaders running modern applications in Amazon Web Services (AWS).
All businesses and industries are going digital transformation, leveraging software as a primary driver for innovation and growth to satisfy the changing customer demand. Modern applications are at the heart of this disruption, and innovators are leveraging AWS infrastructure, microservices, new organizational models and analytics solutions to deliver new digital products and services that provide engaging, highly scalable, always-on customer experiences.
However, architecting and operating these modern applications introduces new complexities and risks. The ‘State of the Modern Applications in AWS Report’ from Sumo Logic provides a blueprint of best practices, gleaned from the best and brightest who are paving the way in the cloud and modern app era.
Summary of Key Takeaways
Cloud-Native Technologies Driving A New Modern Application Stack
The characteristics of modern applications in the cloud are changing, resulting in new challenges for software and IT architects. The report shows that modern AWS-based applications are architected differently and leverage vastly different application components than traditional three-tier applications - specifically, how to run a modern application workload, which application components make up the application, and which application services to use to deliver and operate the application. This re-architecture opens up an opportunity to choose the application components and service that have the right characteristics for a given use case.
Application Infrastructure
Developers of modern applications for AWS are choosing Linux varietals, with Microsoft Windows being a distant second in order to run their primary application workloads. This adoption pattern differs significantly from distribution of on-premises workloads and other infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platforms such as Azure.
Furthermore, those workloads are also leveraging containers to improve portability and hardware utilization. The report finds double-digit penetration of container technologies, such as Docker moving into production workloads, as well as double-digit percentage adoption of serverless computing, such as AWS Lambda technology.
Application Components
Developers of modern applications are also adopting very different technologies to power their applications. The report finds that NoSQL databases have outpaced traditional RDMBS technologies when it comes to powering the data layer of modern applications. Furthermore, traditional database vendors are far behind the new database vendors in terms of adoption for AWS based modern application workloads. The data also highlights NGINX adoption outpacing all other web servers in AWS, including Apache.
Application Services
The report also analyzes usage of AWS native application level services for storage, security and performance. As part of this analysis, the report uncovers a cloud security paradox. As security is a top concern for enterprises adopting public cloud, already two-thirds of applications leverage advanced AWS security services, such as AWS CloudTrail and VPC Flow Logs.
“An increasing number of customer-facing digital services are built on public cloud platforms like AWS as it provides fast time-to-value, flexibility and reliability,” said Bruno Kurtic, founding vice president of product and strategy at Sumo Logic. “The findings from this report uncover trends and insights based on unique data from leading-edge adopters of AWS, which is relevant to all businesses considering application modernization and cloud migration initiatives. The report also provides recommendations to help organizations learn how to architect and select application components and services for their next-gen customer facing applications.”
Sumo Logic, a recognized expert in building and operating massive multi-tenant, highly distributed cloud systems, is the industry’s first machine data analytics platform to natively ingest, index and analyze structured and unstructured data together in real-time. As one of the most powerful cloud services in the world, Sumo Logic analyzes over 100 petabytes of data daily, delivering tens of millions of insights to customers who rely on continuous intelligence across the entire application lifecycle to more effectively build, run and secure their modern applications.
State of AWS Modern Applications Report Methodology
The report is based on data gathered and analyzed from applications and infrastructure managed by more than 1,000 Sumo Logic customers. All customer-specific data is anonymous. Adoption data is based on evidence of organizations setting up and collecting log, metric and event data from a specific application component or infrastructure stack typically for the purpose of monitoring, troubleshooting and securing the modern application utilizing these components.
Additional Resources
- Download the State of the Modern Applications for AWS Report
- Read the Sumo Logic blog
- Sign up for a free trial of Sumo Logic
