SnapLogic: Tackling The Complex Features Of The Cloud

Luchi Gabriel Manescu | Cloud Tweaks

The very concept behind the development of the cloud is based on user friendly apps that allow for a much broader range of functionality for people who don’t really have anything to do with the IT world. And when SnapLogic was first developed in 2006, it became instantly famous because it took even the few technologically challenging aspects of interacting with the cloud and made them accessible to non-IT specialists.

The very concept was perfectly symbolized by the snap technology integration that would allow even the HR department of a company to integrate their legacy on site software with the services the company owned online. However the system does have its drawbacks, as many IT specialists pointed out, since those issues were the ones keeping them from doing their job. So even though the snap connections provided do allow integration of many cloud services like Amazon S3, CheetahMail, Google Apps, Oracle, SAP and NetSuite, they cannot guarantee the 100% uptime that dedicated IT departments are responsible for.

So the latest SnapLogic release called “Enterprise Integration Platform” was actually designed to provide the higher degree of control that the IT departments require. The new platform could be regarded as a pace offering to the specialists but it also provides some long needed upgrades that should make life easier for most of the users.

Probably the most sought after feature that has been integrated in the new platform is the rollback function that allows users to go back to a stable configuration if one of the integrations or updates they have implemented is creating problems for the system. And for those situations or workstations where the users are completely uncomfortable with handling IT issues there is also a “smart shutdown” feature that prevents new integrations from being started until other, already started integrations are completed.

Another feature that should eliminate downtown completely is the ability to mirror metadata across multiple active servers. In simple term this means that even if one server should fail at any given time every bit of information that it contained already exists on another server that is already active and able to pick up the slack. So from a front office point of view there should not be any interruptions in the workflow while the IT specialists handle the hardware or software issues.

But the ultimate change is in the web based interface that now allows administrators to perform user management tasks across the web. So, for companies that work out of multiple locations, there is no need for separate IT departments, since every task can be handled remotely over the internet. This also means that, were company policies allow, the IT specialists will be able to work from home even if that means working from another country.

Ultimately, the point of the cloud is to make life easier for its users and, with the latest updates in the SnapLogic system, the life of the IT specialists has also been made easier. And because of that they will probably prefer the SnapLogic system whenever they will need to integrate the onsite features of an office with the cloud services that they are using.