ColdFusion Is Nowhere Near Cloud Native

Hopefully our drumbeat about cloud native application development is starting to resonate. Webapper is fully committed to helping customers migrate to the cloud, either by lift & shift of a mature application, using the strangler pattern, and/or re-architecting. We’re also building new serverless apps from scratch. A common thread in our work is limiting our use of monolithic architecture. When we wrote about our lack of confidence in ColdFusion, we received some pushback that we were being too hard on Adobe. But the truth that remains a few months later is that ColdFusion is nowhere near cloud native, and the support of cloud methods is just not enough for the long haul.

Why Cloud Native Application Development Matters

Running Adobe ColdFusion in the cloud has advantages. First, being in the cloud can help with uptime. We build self-healing systems that overcome all kinds of issues, including memory boundaries and disk space shortages. When bad stuff happens, we can work around it. Second, in a related area, we can ensure better performance. Using clusters, we can add capacity to support heavy peak workloads. And third, as a corollary to the second advantage, we can keep a lid on costs. AWS’s ‘leasing’ model alleviates heavy capital expenditures, which saves money over time. And the corollary is that when workloads fall from their peaks, we can adapt the infrastructure, spinning down servers, to lower costs. We meet peak demand with ease, and we scale back just as easily. Uptime, performance, and pricing are all core cloud advantages.

ColdFusion Is Nowhere Near Cloud Native

Unfortunately, the cloud advantages of ColdFusion are limited by its monolithic architecture, weak cloud native interfaces, and licensing costs. By its very nature, ColdFusion is a monolith. Yes, you can call AWS Lambdas, but your core application cannot be serverless, and you’ll never fully embrace microservices. Why endure the handcuffs of CFML if you can just build native cloud services? As we explained before, the core-based licensing model for Adobe ColdFusion is antiquated and unacceptable for any application that will scale in the cloud. Even if you port your application from ACF to Lucee, you’re still in a monolithic architecture. Lucee has some improved cloud integration methods, but still has a relatively large core application footprint. Being cloud native enables deploying, modifying, and restarting microservices with no impact on other services within the application. A monolith does not fit that definition…

Webapper Is Changing Course. So Can You.

We have a long, long pedigree as a ColdFusion development team, and we still work with dozens of ColdFusion & Lucee applications today. We advocate a transition, if possible, to modern application development. If your application is mature, get to the cloud with lift & shift (if that makes economic sense) as a stepping stone. Then look at the strangler pattern to transition your monolithic application to more cloud-enabled. New function? Try using AWS Lambdas to cut your teeth. Gradually build experience and knowledge to expand your transition. And if you’re a seasoned ColdFusion shop tackling a new project, we recommend weighing your options carefully. Do you want to face the same challenges for the next five years? You can develop fast with your CFML experience, but you’ll hit the wall again when it comes to the cloud.

To recap: existing app, transition, and new app, go cloud native…