Cloud

The first layer comprises application development, which is based on automated pipelines (such as the CI/CD pipeline = continuous integration, continuous delivery, continuous deployment). This also includes the provision of the application itself so that it is available to users. All developed software artefacts run through standardised pipelines which, for example, ensure code quality and security, and also ensure functionality through fully automated test scenarios. Simply put: It is constantly being developed in small and manageable increments . All these small increments are also continuously being made available in production as well. This leads a more rapid availability of features and an improved rectification of errors compared to classic, semi-annual Deployments that are too large and burdened by dependencies to be able to fully assure their quality. This also improves the capacity to react to new requirements as well as the specific needs of our IT projects and processes. This is also increasing software quality, enabling efficient development approaches such as DevOps, and further promoting established methods of agile software development (e.g. Scrum). Another important feature is that development teams can resort to a fully automated "construction kit" for application development and concentrate on the integration of technical requirements. The "construction kit" itself is provided in standardised form, ensures minimum standards with the help of quality gates, and does not have to be redeveloped for every development project. The platform offers the end user a high level of performance and reliability, as well as good handling and rapid availability of technical features thanks to its high level of standardisation.

The platform offers standard services (such as Logging, secret management, authentication, etc.) that can be used by applications. Where software development projects previously had to provide web servers or access protection themselves, they can now obtain these services in a standardised form via the cloud platform. Applications only need their core functionality (mostly specialised), and draw the remainder from the standardised layers outlined below or from standard platform services. Due to the high level of standardisation and the central availability of the various layers, they no longer have to be developed individually and from scratch for each development project. This ensures both a shorter provision time and a significantly higher degree of uniformity (and thus maintainability and security) across different projects. All in all, it shall become possible to act, adjust and control flexibly and scalable at any time with fluctuating loads (such as with increasing numbers of applicants), without the need for manual intervention. The basic paradigm is: Nothing on the platform is done manually, everything is generated automatically from code.

Ultimately, a cloud platform also consists of physical resources such as servers, network hardware, power supply and air-conditioned, highly secure rooms. In contrast to the classic provision of software, this infrastructure is accessed via standardised interfaces. The combination of these interfaces with a high level of automation results in an “Infrastructure as a Service” principle, in which infrastructure services are provided rapidly and easily for the application using them. In addition, it is also possible this way to automatically adapt to usage spikes (scaling), so that the resources used are always adapted to the current requirements.