Reasons why cloud development environments are spiking in popularity now.

The roots of remote development environments can be traced back to the beginnings of computer programming. During the 1960s, centralised computers that were pricey were shared by users located remotely who were connected through terminals. As part of this 'timesharing' arrangement, users were allocated specific windows of time to access the processor.

Developers working in the cloud use a system familiar to the one that programmers used to operate a mainframe via a terminal in the past. However, in the olden days, the main aim was to minimise infrastructure expenses since the CPU utilisation costs significantly surpassed programmer fees. It was common for one central machine worth several workers’ annual salaries to perform all the demanding computational processes. This time one of Manchester University in the UK was worth millions in today’s economy – equivalent to hundreds of programmers' annual salaries. It's no surprise then that processing time was extremely precious back then.

Given the monetary advantage of technology, one may wonder why the deployment of remote environments has risen significantly in recent times. Yet it would seem the tech paradigm has undergone a transformation, leading to more feasible and reasonable alternatives, facilitating this shift in operation.

Here are the main reasons:

1. The world of commerce is no longer what it used to be: The utilisation of cloud technology for software operations has become normal. Nowadays, numerous companies consider it standard practice to use the cloud for their production workloads. This shift in approach is linked to the rise of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, which involves selling software and serves as a crucial initial move towards cloud development. It is only when production loads are transferred to the cloud that it becomes logical to also migrate the development runtime to the cloud. Consequently, the widespread acceptance of cloud computing leads to a larger pool of potential users for cloud development.

2. The complexity of software has increased. As artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and microservices continue to advance, the demand for computing resources to support the complexity of software has grown exponentially. Traditional local computers, limited in their processing power, are no longer sufficient for running the diverse range of software that users wish to develop. In certain instances, the utilisation of cloud technology during the development process may become an unavoidable necessity.

3. The software now operates autonomously from its runtime environment. Software is now often packaged in containers that can run in any environment, cloud and local, as long as the base technologies are available.

Certain obstacles have been removed:

• Internet connection. Thankfully, there has been a significant increase in internet speed over recent years, and Wi-Fi accessibility is now widespread. As common development processes often only involve modifying small source code files, data transfer during these instances is minimal, rendering latency relatively unimportant in modern times.
• Time required for the deployment process. Avoiding the need for running an entire deployment pipeline for minor changes is possible, which makes cloud development like conducting local development.
• Transitioning to cloud computing. As the macro trends gravitate towards cloud computing and SaaS, an increasing number of companies find it imperative to transition to the cloud.
• Attempts to govern access to cloud computing resources. When it comes to cloud interaction, all developers require some form of access. The task of managing and controlling this access can be particularly daunting for larger teams. Nevertheless, thanks to public cloud solutions, creating new cloud-based development instances has become a simple task. In fact, it is even feasible to utilise a single instance and distribute access among multiple developers.
• Cloud cost. The resources you use in a public cloud must be paid for. Your team's computing costs can become quite high very quickly if all developers need their own cloud environment. The cost impact of cloud development cannot be eliminated, but it can be reduced.

The benefits of cloud development:

• The ability to compute indefinitely. Reliance on computer resources for on-site development can put constraints on abilities, but the limitless computational potential of cloud computing presents an alternative. Additionally, the utilisation of specialised hardware, such as GPUs, which are a vital element of many AI and ML systems, is possible through the cloud.
• ​Minimal setup needed. If you use cloud development, one member of your team can set everything up and configure it, and all other members can start directly from there.
• Collaboration opportunities and standardisation. The utilisation of standardised configuration files in your cloud environment allows for easy bug replication and team support. It also enables the possibility of granting a colleague direct access to your cloud environment for the purpose of fixing issues or sharing work results, promoting increased collaboration and teamwork.
• Access from anywhere. If your computer fails and needs to be replaced, you have the freedom to change your local hardware to your liking. This flexibility aligns with the demands of the modern work culture, including remote work and mobility.

While cloud development has been around for some time, it hasn't been commonly accepted until recently. This is due to the emerging trends in cloud development and Software-as-a-Service, in addition to innovations like container technologies such as Kubernetes and Docker. Now, cloud development appears poised to become the principal approach to building and deploying cloud-based applications.