Delivery Options
ElasticApps (EA) Hosting Environments
As a Platform as a Service provider we recognize that organizations can have varying requirements, regarding the handling of their data, which impact the software services provided to their employees. We also understand that although the newest delivery methodologies of Software as a Service and Platform as a Service may align with various strategic business decisions within an organisation it is possible that the IT impact of these business decisions may not have made their way into the organization's IT doctrine.
To support the delivery of ElasticApps within this commercial reality Faulkner Technologies (FT) offers a flexible software license agreement. The intention of this document is to introduce and describe, at a high level, the options available for the delivery of ElasticApps (EA). The details of an EA licensing agreement are multi-faceted and the infrastructure provision is one element, for a full understanding of any licensing agreement please discuss this with your EA provider.
Tenancy basics:
Multi-tenancy - at the heart of the SaaS technical architecture is an element called multi-tenancy. Multi-tenancy refers to the SaaS IT architecture where elements of the architecture and/or instances of the application are shared and designed to support multiple client organizations (tenants).
This architectural principle has different variations and extents to which it can be deployed, but the fundamental purpose of multi-tenancy is to leverage a consolidated infrastructure and application management framework to achieve deployment economies of scale, resulting in cost savings that can be extended to SaaS customers. A notable characteristic of this tenancy type is that tenant data is logically separated through application controls rather then physically separated.
Single tenancy (shared execution) – this references possible hybrid architectural designs in between multi tenant and isolated tenant in which either various aspects of the application code and physical infrastructure is shared but the data is physically separated.
Isolated tenancy – an architecture characterized by the application and its data being physically separate such that one tenant uses one installation of the application code, data storage and physical infrastructure. This form of tenancy is at the other extreme from multi tenancy.
The following is a brief explanation of each option that is offered by FT:
Basic Multi tenant hosting environment (Faulkner infrastructure)
This infrastructure is provisioned as a single dedicated server operated by FT. This is our least expensive method of delivery for EA and would be adequate for most deployments where no other influences existed outside of the application delivery, e.g. no corporate requirements for data separation, unique access requests or high degrees of application customization.
Advanced Multi tenant hosting environment (cloud)
This is also multi tenant but with infrastructure provisioned from Amazon Web Services (AWS). The same scenarios apply to this form of accessing EA as with the basic multi tenant but with the distinction of having advanced forms of redundancy within the infrastructure (made available at manageable cost through AWS). Customers should consider this option if the application's usage would have dramatic peaks and valley's in its use either due to the numbers of expectant users or the context of the application being delivered. Cloud computing offers methodologies for scaling infrastructure up/down that are not otherwise available. This form of licensing would be more expensive then FT's basic multi tenant hosting.
Basic Virtual Private Instance (dedicated) – single tenant
This is an independently operating EA instance (code base) and Database for use by only one client with a shared physical environment. This infrastructure is provisioned as a dedicated Virtual Private Server on a dedicated server operated by FT. This form of licensing would be applicable to organizations whose IT policies required data and software code to not be provisioned within a shared or multi tenant code base but did not require individual equipment.
This option may also be appropriate if a high degree of customization or EA modification were required by the solution. This form of licensing would be more expensive from a cost of ownership (COO) than FT's basic multi-tenant hosting but otherwise duplicative of other attributes of that solution.
Advanced Private Instance (cloud) – isolated tenant
This is an independently operating EA instance, database and infrastructure for use by only one client. This option provides a combination of the advanced multi tenant cloud hosting and the basic single tenant solutions with the added benefit of a full separation of infrastructure.
In this option FT would acquire and configure an independent AWS infrastructure for the client. In addition to the purposes noted in the other single tenant options clients may find this option necessary if their application had requirements for advanced setups available within AWS (high degree of redundancy) or if the client already has a AWS Cloud strategy and would like to place EA in a 'known' environment.
Hosted Dedicated equipment – isolated tenant
This is an independently operating EA instance, database and infrastructure for use by only one client where the infrastructure is a dedicated server provisioned and maintained by FT. This may be useful for organizations that have no IT staff on premises but have organizational requirements that dictate a strong separation of their data and software from others but don't require any of the advanced capabilities of AWS.
Appliance – isolated tenant
This is an independently operating EA instance, database and infrastructure for use by only one client where the infrastructure is provided to the client for installation in their own private data centre.
This may be useful for organizations that have IT staff on premises and have strict organizational requirements that dictate a strong separation of their data and software from others as well as their handling their own data within their own processes. In this instance FT maintains access to the infrastructure for customer support and software updates but otherwise the equipment remains a part of the clients managed network. Various procedures for backup, monitoring and 1st line customer support are generally worked out based on the circumstances. This option includes an upfront cost for equipment, setup and installation as well as ongoing costs for both licensing and equipment support.
As a Platform as a Service provider we recognize that organizations can have varying requirements, regarding the handling of their data, which impact the software services provided to their employees. We also understand that although the newest delivery methodologies of Software as a Service and Platform as a Service may align with various strategic business decisions within an organisation it is possible that the IT impact of these business decisions may not have made their way into the organization's IT doctrine.
To support the delivery of ElasticApps within this commercial reality Faulkner Technologies (FT) offers a flexible software license agreement. The intention of this document is to introduce and describe, at a high level, the options available for the delivery of ElasticApps (EA). The details of an EA licensing agreement are multi-faceted and the infrastructure provision is one element, for a full understanding of any licensing agreement please discuss this with your EA provider.
Tenancy basics:
Multi-tenancy - at the heart of the SaaS technical architecture is an element called multi-tenancy. Multi-tenancy refers to the SaaS IT architecture where elements of the architecture and/or instances of the application are shared and designed to support multiple client organizations (tenants).
This architectural principle has different variations and extents to which it can be deployed, but the fundamental purpose of multi-tenancy is to leverage a consolidated infrastructure and application management framework to achieve deployment economies of scale, resulting in cost savings that can be extended to SaaS customers. A notable characteristic of this tenancy type is that tenant data is logically separated through application controls rather then physically separated.
Single tenancy (shared execution) – this references possible hybrid architectural designs in between multi tenant and isolated tenant in which either various aspects of the application code and physical infrastructure is shared but the data is physically separated.
Isolated tenancy – an architecture characterized by the application and its data being physically separate such that one tenant uses one installation of the application code, data storage and physical infrastructure. This form of tenancy is at the other extreme from multi tenancy.
The following is a brief explanation of each option that is offered by FT:
Basic Multi tenant hosting environment (Faulkner infrastructure)
This infrastructure is provisioned as a single dedicated server operated by FT. This is our least expensive method of delivery for EA and would be adequate for most deployments where no other influences existed outside of the application delivery, e.g. no corporate requirements for data separation, unique access requests or high degrees of application customization.
Advanced Multi tenant hosting environment (cloud)
This is also multi tenant but with infrastructure provisioned from Amazon Web Services (AWS). The same scenarios apply to this form of accessing EA as with the basic multi tenant but with the distinction of having advanced forms of redundancy within the infrastructure (made available at manageable cost through AWS). Customers should consider this option if the application's usage would have dramatic peaks and valley's in its use either due to the numbers of expectant users or the context of the application being delivered. Cloud computing offers methodologies for scaling infrastructure up/down that are not otherwise available. This form of licensing would be more expensive then FT's basic multi tenant hosting.
Basic Virtual Private Instance (dedicated) – single tenant
This is an independently operating EA instance (code base) and Database for use by only one client with a shared physical environment. This infrastructure is provisioned as a dedicated Virtual Private Server on a dedicated server operated by FT. This form of licensing would be applicable to organizations whose IT policies required data and software code to not be provisioned within a shared or multi tenant code base but did not require individual equipment.
This option may also be appropriate if a high degree of customization or EA modification were required by the solution. This form of licensing would be more expensive from a cost of ownership (COO) than FT's basic multi-tenant hosting but otherwise duplicative of other attributes of that solution.
Advanced Private Instance (cloud) – isolated tenant
This is an independently operating EA instance, database and infrastructure for use by only one client. This option provides a combination of the advanced multi tenant cloud hosting and the basic single tenant solutions with the added benefit of a full separation of infrastructure.
In this option FT would acquire and configure an independent AWS infrastructure for the client. In addition to the purposes noted in the other single tenant options clients may find this option necessary if their application had requirements for advanced setups available within AWS (high degree of redundancy) or if the client already has a AWS Cloud strategy and would like to place EA in a 'known' environment.
Hosted Dedicated equipment – isolated tenant
This is an independently operating EA instance, database and infrastructure for use by only one client where the infrastructure is a dedicated server provisioned and maintained by FT. This may be useful for organizations that have no IT staff on premises but have organizational requirements that dictate a strong separation of their data and software from others but don't require any of the advanced capabilities of AWS.
Appliance – isolated tenant
This is an independently operating EA instance, database and infrastructure for use by only one client where the infrastructure is provided to the client for installation in their own private data centre.
This may be useful for organizations that have IT staff on premises and have strict organizational requirements that dictate a strong separation of their data and software from others as well as their handling their own data within their own processes. In this instance FT maintains access to the infrastructure for customer support and software updates but otherwise the equipment remains a part of the clients managed network. Various procedures for backup, monitoring and 1st line customer support are generally worked out based on the circumstances. This option includes an upfront cost for equipment, setup and installation as well as ongoing costs for both licensing and equipment support.
