Congratulations, you have now created an on-demand app! Not sure what an on-demand app is? Check out our post here. Now where do you host it?
Apple App Store and Google Play
For starters, you don’t actually host the code of the app itself; you publish your app on the iTunes or Google play stores where your users can download and install it .
You do however need to open and maintain an Apple/Google developer account If you want to keep it published.
Why you Need the Cloud
If your on-demand app houses user information or needs to talk to a database, then you will need to host the database in a reliable and secure location.
What are your options for hosting a database? If you have the skill set, you can theoretically host it yourself on a server in your in your garage, but that’s definitely not recommended if you intend on housing sensitive information or cannot afford to be down due to technical issues or outages. This is not a simple task. You will also need to manage all security concerns yourself. Not to mention keeping up with all the hardware and security upgrades over time.
A much more progressive solution is to host the database in the cloud. Most cloud services actually offer entry level solutions that are free or ay minimal cost. Most importantly, you don’t have to worry about continual hardware, software, and security patch updates. Cloud providers also do all the backing up for you. Finally, if scalability is a concern, then cloud solutions offer infinite and instant flexibility. You can always buy as much as you need. And informing your customers that your solution is hosted in the cloud does offer comfort and reassurance about your solution in general.
