Containerization: The Future of Application Development

Software development was, until recently, a multi-faceted process. Creating a program required separate configurations for different platforms and was also dependent on running additional components. But the growing movement towards cloud-based containerization is changing that. Now, programs stand alone and include everything they need to function properly.

“A container is like having the complete package of the operating system, all the dependencies, liabilities, and everything together so you don’t need any other additional components when you run an application,” says Praveen Minumula, Chief Technology Officer at Katalyst Technologies. Because of its self-contained nature, this enables the software to run faster, more consistently, and more securely. The increased file size is a small tradeoff for the added reliability and durability during building and testing.

The concept is still relatively new—primitive containers called “jails” emerged in 2000 but failed to make much of an impression—but in recent years, it’s been gaining steam, and industry leaders are taking notice. Last year, IBM purchased a company that specializes in open-source container platforms for $34 billion. Minumula suggests that the only reason companies have not adapted containers more is simply because they’re unfamiliar. “The high-level picture is that a business wants to build applications faster or add features to existing applications faster,” he says.

“Containerization has come with huge benefits” for IT teams, says Abby Fuller, Principal Technologist at AWS. As usual, the first step is to come up with a strategy specific for your organization. “A little planning goes a long way,” she says. Massive applications can work better broken down into microservices before containerization scale pieces independently and use resources more effectively. “Companies won’t get a ton of benefit from just wrapping a large, existing application in a container and calling it good.”

Benefits of Containerization
Integrated across platforms
Integration is perhaps the most significant advantage containerization offers. A properly containerized program will run smoothly and identically on any operating system, making the user experience much more consistent and successful.

A developer can create a program on a Windows, Linux, or Mac machine, where it performs flawlessly. Moving forward, though, problems may arise. “They put all the code together in a QA [quality assurance] environment where a testing team would come in and test the code,” Minumula says. “It works fine, and next you put the code in production. Things blow up. What happened? It’s because the environment in which the code was developed was different from QA and different from production.”

Efficient testing
The contents of one container won’t interfere with those of another—it can only interact with the other components of its own container. Because of this, conducting software tests is more reliable and flexible. “You’re not moving the code from one stage to the other stage; you’re actually moving the container from one stage to the other stage,” notes Minumula. “That way, the application performs uniformly no matter at what stage of development.”

Increased adaptability
In a traditional monolithic application, even a minor modification could greatly affect its overall performance. “If you have to make any small change to the application, the impact is going to be high because you need to measure if the small change [you’re] making, is it impacting any other part of the application?” Minumula says. “The advantage of microservice applications is you can break down individual modules into separate applications and you can scale those applications.”

Improved security
As a container is isolated, it is less susceptible to viruses and attacks from outside sources. On the flip side, if a container’s operating system base is threatened, the entire container is at risk, so developers must account for any potential security concerns during the testing stages.

Through its partnerships with Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, Katalyst remains on the cutting edge of technology. “Being an AWS partner allows our team to constantly be focused on customer success and help them take full advantage of the business benefits AWS has to offer,” says Minumula. “With deep expertise, we are positioned to help customers at any stage of the cloud adaption journey and to help achieve business objectives.”

Natural Ways To Reduce Arthritis Pain In Old Age People Safely

Joint pain among old age people is a common health issue reported in health care centers. We are going to see here some of the best natural ways to reduce arthritis pain. Let’s start our topic with cayenne pepper. It is an excellent topical ointment that relieves joint pain problems. To get the best results, it is advised to apply cayenne pepper ointment on affected area twice or thrice per day.

Today, most of the herbal products used for treating joint pain are added with cayenne pepper as a key ingredient. If you are in search of a natural remedial measure to alleviate pain, feel free to make use of cayenne pepper in daily life. You can also use a combination of cayenne pepper and apple cider vinegar to reduce joint pain in body.

Do you like to drink grape juice? Grape juice is found to be as an excellent cure for joint pain and arthritis problems. What makes grape juice as an exotic cure for joint pain problems? This is a common query heard from people. Presence of anthocyanins is a key feature here. It reduces inflammations and decreases the risk of arthritis and joint pain problems.

Pectin fibers present in fruits are found to be very beneficial to relieve fluid buildup in joints. Hence it is advised to include a good amount of fruits containing pectin fibers in diet. Today, you can easily avail food products containing fibers from market. If you are planning to buy such products, make sure that the selected one is free from additives and preservatives.

Licorice root is another natural remedy for treating joint pain problems. Glycyrrhizin compound present in licorice root is mainly responsible for this health benefit. People suffering from severe arthritis troubles can make use of licorice root extract to alleviate pain in joints. At present, licorice root products can be easily availed from market in the form of tea powders and capsules.

If you are suffering from blood pressure troubles, try to limit the use of licorice root products. Also, never hesitate to take advice from a certified health expert. Flaxseed is one among the best examples of food sources that reduce the risk of arthritis troubles. Omega-3 compounds present in flaxseed are found to be very useful to strengthen joints and ligaments. To get the best health advantages, try to include flaxseed oil in daily diet schedule.

Stinging nettle leaf tea is another natural cure for treating health issues like arthritis. Nettle leaf tea is a potent combination of protein, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium compounds. Apart from the above specified compounds, you can also see the traces of iron, beta carotene and vitamin B complex compounds in stinging nettle leaf tea. It is an apt choice for all in search of a natural cure for treating joint pain problems. Rumatone Gold capsules are one among the best sold herbal products to treat arthritis and joint pain problems. For effective results, try to use Rumatone Gold oil in combination with Rumatone Gold capsules. These both provide the safe natural ways to reduce arthritis pain problems in old age people.

The 4 Crucial Areas of Global Innovation

Katalyst Technologies sponsored a panel discussion on global innovation with The Executives’ Club of Chicago, featuring expert guest panelists. Read on to discover the four main areas of global innovation as told by Katalyst and other global companies.

Recently, Katlayst Technologies hosted a panel discussion centered around innovation with the International Business Forum of The Executives’ Club of Chicago, titled “Innovation in a Global Environment: Leveraging People, Processes, and Systems.” Katalyst CEO, Rahul Shah, who is also a Co-Chair for the International Business Forum, was a panelist for the event.

Other notable members on the diverse panel were Howard Dahl, President & CEO, Amity Technology LLC., a global manufacturer of agricultural equipment. Steven Thiry, President & CEO of Fives Machining Systems, Inc., an industrial engineering group that designs and supplies for the world’s largest industrial groups. Dan Swinney of Manufacturing Renaissance, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to build thriving and inclusive communities by connecting them to manufacturing through education, training, and local ownership, and Ray Ziganto of Linara International, a strategic advisory firm with expertise in domestic and international mechanical component manufacturing, were also featured guests on the panel. Ray Bellan, President of Katalyst’s Global Engineering and Manufacturing Practice, was the panel’s moderator.

The panel’s discussion focused on four different avenues of global innovation, human capital and people, automation and its impact, regulatory systems and innovation itself.

On the area of innovation itself, the panelists talked at length about how to manage and inspire innovation across geographically dispersed teams. Rahul Shah shared his belief that the underlying message for organizations was that they should learn to accept failures as they innovate because not every venture will turn out successful. Howard Dahl of Amity Technology, LLC added to Rahul’s belief that to create an innovative culture, one should establish an environment where ideas can be welcomed and cultivated. Another insight shared was the importance of connecting with the customer to achieve innovation and successful design localization. The importance of understanding local cultures and local markets was also brought up during the discussion. Dahl indicated that he visited Russia and Ukraine 90 times to learn its markets.

On the topic of human capital and people, the significant issues discussed pertained to the shortage of people and skills and how it has affected the panelists’ businesses. In addition to the challenges of managing global teams, the struggle of mismatched skills in the labor market were also discussed. Expressed explicitly was the difficulty in filling high-tech manufacturing jobs in the US. In the case of Katalyst, Shah spoke of Katalyst’s global internship program, in which Katalyst sends US interns to its offices in India. When the interns return to the US, they are left with a multicultural experience that prepares them for today’s diverse global marketplace. Steven Thiry of Fives Manufacturing Systems shared his concern with the availability of quality candidates in the future, noting that the average tenure of a Fives employee is 25 years and that a number of those employees are nearing retirement. Additionally, Dahl shared that in order to fill the void caused by the shortage of people and skills, Katalyst could provide an outsourced engineering team.

Panelists also agreed there can be an international risk that comes along with competing globally. At one point during the discussion, the panelists spoke on the impact of US government regulations on US manufacturers who want to sell all around the world. Even when in compliance with the ITAR (International Trade in Arms Regulations) and despite the exported products not being made for military purposes, companies can run into issues with selling internationally due to specific regulations . Fives’ Thiry shared an example of his own. Fives produces automation equipment to make carbon fiber composites that are used to build airplanes and aerospace defense components. However, because Fives cannot export and compete globally, whereas European competitors can, there is an uneven playing field for Fives, who produce their equipment in Wisconsin and Kentucky. As a result, the panelists view regulatory measures of this kind as stifling towards business growth.

That evening, the topic of automation raised questions regarding education. There was a consensus amongst panelists that training below a university degree such as vocational training, commonly available in Europe, was scarcely available in the US. Although workplace automation was mentioned, it is not a significant concern for the panelists as most of them do business in low-volume, high-mix industries where automation is not easily implemented.