Application Portability

Application portability refers to the power of applications to be installed, deployed, managed and accessed portably notwithstanding the delivery models. This portability, therefore, refers to the flexibility of individual applications to be used on different platforms so that these can be immediately accessed across the Internet through a network or desktop. So, application portability will include multiple features of any application which can be globally accessed through the web browsers. When it is in a desktop mode or an offline mode, it may mean the power of the application to run on most OS environments. With the help of application portability feature, applications can be transferred and run through portable devices like the USB.

Application portability enables an application to be portably installed, managed, regardless of the model of delivery. The term defines the level of flexibility in an application when used with parameters defining an application's flexibility. The application is used on multiple platforms and is instantly accessed from a workstation, desktop or network.

Application portability incorporates with itself multiple app capabilities and apps that can be globally accessed from a browser over the internet.

When running in offline or desktop mode, app portability defines the app’s ability to be executed in desktop or offline mode. App portability also defined the application’s ability to execute the underpinning OS operations. 

Most organizations have built their private clouds, or are in the phase to build the same and view hybrid technologies as their destination. This certainly implies that IT companies want to move apps and data back and forth from their system to either public or private component of their cloud services. Moving applications between cloud components is not as easy as it seems as first, given the apps need to provide the same level of performance as it provided earlier. Providing portability to an application is more than just making the app installable. First, not only should the app be able to execute operations as required from non-portable apps but also required to perform better. 

The cloud source and the target are both very likely to be different in all aspects. First, different hypervisors may not be running the same operations as the test system. The target cloud may not have the same underlying system and so the application can never be expected to perform the way it must have performed in the test system. 

Several providers have only recently started with application portability. You should not expect the same to be delivered anytime soon, although efforts are underway and are in full swing. 

To make sure the app and the components supporting it run smoothly, the target system must resemble the origin system as closely as it can. Also, make sure the apps and the supporting components are not relying on the operating system and the cloud infra underlying it.

To do so, search for a management platform for your application that is likely to support the apps in several cloud environments at once. You can alternatively look for management platforms for your applications that feature a comprehensive package for managing the entire infra from one place. 

Portability in high-level computer programming is how it uses the software in different environments. The pre-requirement for most portability applications is the abstraction between app logic and the interface with which the system has been configured. When producing software with the same functionality over and over again, portability becomes the major issue for cost reduction.

However, even with all the speculations in the place, application portability is one key feature we cannot downright ignore or reject, given its importance in the upcoming cloud hosting world.