Core application characteristics

All cloud computing applications should adhere to the following basic characteristics.

Loose coupling

The loose coupling of application components operating in the cloud maximizes the ability for each component to be individually self-contained. This approach logically separates components and leads to more straightforward and less numerous interactions, which improves application resiliency and portability. Interactions should not be time-critical as communication latency between cloud-based components cannot be reliably predicted.

Service orientation

Service orientation is a design approach that focuses on the linkage between services and service-based development and the outcomes of those services. It is referred to as service-oriented architecture (SOA). A service does the following:

• Logically represents a repeatable business activity that has a specified outcome (for example, check customer credit, provide weather data, consolidate drilling reports)
• Is designed...