Let's make Cloud #35: Why Crossplane could not be the right choice, Clickstream Analytics on AWS for Mobile and Web Applications, Colima an an alternative to Docker Desktop

Hello CloudMakers!

Today we shall see:

• why Crossplane could not be the right choice

• Clickstream Analytics on AWS for Mobile and Web Applications

• Colima an an alternative to Docker Desktop

Enjoy!

Crossplane: Why it Didn't Work for Us

In this article, we journey through a company's exploration of managing their Infrastructure as Code (IaC) challenges. They initially used Terraform, but encountered some complexities, particularly during continuous reconciliation.

They gave Crossplane a serious consideration due to its potential and rapid development. However, after a thorough analysis, they concluded it wasn't the right fit. The move to Crossplane seemed like a departure from their core area of expertise and appeared to demand considerable effort.

This experience provides valuable insights for other businesses contemplating similar technology decisions. It underscores the importance of ensuring that technology choices align well with your team's proficiency and the user's needs.

Clickstream Analytics on AWS for Mobile and Web Applications

This article discusses the challenges mobile and web application developers and product owners often face when implementing clickstream analysis solutions to understand customer behavior within their apps. Clickstream analysis helps identify popular screens, analyze navigation patterns, detect bottlenecks and drop-off points, and perform A/B testing, but there are two main issues when adopting or building such a solution.

One option involves using a third-party library and analytics solution, which requires sending all application and customer data to an external provider. This can pose security and compliance risks, and makes it harder to cross-reference with existing business data for enriched analysis.

The second option is to build a proprietary solution using AWS services such as Amazon Kinesis, Amazon EMR, Amazon Redshift, and Amazon QuickSight. While this ensures data security within the AWS account, it diverts resources from core business development, often making it a non-optimal choice.

The article introduces a new solution, Clickstream Analytics on AWS, which combines the best of both options. It allows data to remain within the AWS account for security and compliance, while also offering customization in processing and analytics. This flexibility enables comprehensive insights by combining clickstream data with existing business system data, overcoming the complexity of cross-referencing that arises with third-party analytics solutions. Thus, this solution addresses the common challenges associated with clickstream analysis implementation and promises to deliver more value for businesses.

How Colima is a good alternative to Docker Desktop

Have you ever thought about switching things up from Docker Desktop? Well, you're not alone. There can be all sorts of reasons for wanting a change. In this article, the author shares their own journey of exploring alternatives, all sparked by Docker's service agreement changes in 2021. That's when they discovered Colima, a neat little virtual machine based on Lima.

What makes Colima cool? It provides container runtimes for MacOS/Linux, and it has a bunch of handy features. There's a simple Command Line Interface (CLI), multi-profiles management, support for different architectures like Intel and M1, and even integration with Docker, containerd runtimes, and Kubernetes. Pretty neat, right?

The cherry on top is a practical comparison between Colima and Docker Desktop. The author runs some scripts to see how they stack up in terms of performance. So, if you're curious about how Colima fares, this article gives you the lowdown.

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