Cloud Software Development: Built for the Cloud, Owned by You

Cloud software development designs software to run on managed cloud services: databases, storage, authentication, functions and hosting that the cloud provider operates, scales and patches. The result scales with demand without a server to manage, recovers from failures automatically, and costs in proportion to use. GBCORP builds all its software this way, in a cloud project opened in the client’s own name, so the client owns the running system as well as the code.

What cloud design changes

Backups and recovery, tested

Managed databases keep point-in-time backups; GBCORP adds scheduled exports to separate storage and tests a restore before launch, not after the first incident. The support plan states how much data could be lost in the worst case and how long recovery takes, and the figures are checked twice a year.

Cost per user, watched

Cloud bills grow quietly. GBCORP designs for cost from the start: images served from a content network, data read once and cached, functions that finish quickly. Budgets and alerts are set in the client’s account, and the monthly report shows cost per active user, so growth that costs more than it earns is seen early.

Checklist before a cloud software project

• Open the cloud account in your company’s name, with two owners.
• Decide the region where data must be stored.
• Set a monthly budget and who receives the alerts.
• Agree how much data loss and downtime are acceptable.
• Ask for separate staging and production environments.
• Plan the first restore test before launch.

The numbers to expect

Scoping in one week, priced on its own. A first release in eight to twelve weeks in fortnightly builds. Running costs in your own account, reported monthly. Support at a known monthly figure. Customised or more complex functionality is quoted separately before any work starts.

A worked example

Consider a ticketing business whose old server falls over every time a popular event goes on sale. The rebuild uses managed services: a database that scales reads, functions that handle purchases in parallel, a queue that holds buyers fairly when demand peaks, and pages served from a content network. On the next big on-sale, the system scales up for the first hour and back down after it, the bill reflects one busy hour rather than a year of oversized servers, and nobody stays up watching a server.

Environments that prevent surprises

Development, staging and production run as separate projects in the client’s account. Every release is tested in staging with realistic data before production. Configuration is written down, not clicked, so an environment can be recreated exactly. Problems found in staging cost nothing to the client’s customers.

Ownership from the first day

The cloud account is opened in the client’s name with the client as owner and GBCORP as a named user with the permissions it needs. Billing goes to the client directly. If the relationship ends, the client removes GBCORP’s access and keeps everything running. Software that runs in a supplier’s account is never fully owned, however the contract reads.

Security in layers

Sign-in through managed authentication, rules on every read and write, secrets kept in a secrets store, encryption in transit and at rest, and access to the cloud account limited to named people. Each layer is documented so the client’s auditors can follow it.

Choosing the region

Data is stored in the region the client chooses, usually close to its customers and in line with its data-protection obligations. Content that is not personal, such as images and pages, is served from locations near each visitor.

Ownership terms

Code in a repository the client controls, documented with every release. Cloud account, data, domain and billing in the client’s name. No credentials retained by GBCORP after a hand-over unless a support contract requires them.

Moving an existing system

Moving software already in use is done in stages. An assessment week maps the system, its data and its connections. The data is copied to the cloud and kept in sync while the new system runs alongside the old one. Users move in groups, starting with a small internal team, and the old system stays available until the figures show the new one is stable. The final move happens in a planned window with a rollback ready. Customers notice faster pages, not the move. The old servers are switched off only after a final export has been checked and the client has confirmed in writing that nothing is still pointing to them.

Questions we hear first

Can you move our existing software to the cloud?

Yes, after an assessment week; some parts move as they are, others are redesigned to use managed services.

Which cloud provider do you use?

GBCORP builds mainly on one major provider’s managed services and chooses per project when a client has a standard.

Who pays the cloud bill?

You do, directly, in your own account; GBCORP does not mark it up.

Is the cloud secure?

The provider secures the infrastructure; GBCORP secures the application with roles, rules and reviews, and documents both.

Where to start

The GBCORP software development hub sets out the method; the GBCORP Custom App Development product is the priced starting point. For the server side of every app, read backend development, the part nobody sees.

GBCORP operates across 17 countries on 4 continents through six pillars: AI & IT, Innovation, Sustainability, Infrastructure, Premium Business, and EV's & Solutions.