Fedr8 codifies app-migration model as
Argentum analytics engine for running
on cloud
Analyst: William Fellows2 Sep, 2014
Argentum is a SaaS application analytics tool created by Fedr8 to help users migrate and integrate applications with cloud. Funded as a new venture, Argentum is now the core focus for the company – Fedr8 will provide the professional services to implement and deliver Argentum's
recommendations.
The 451 Take
Fedr8 has codified the application migration model it has been using in its professional services business to create the Argentum analytics engine. Its approach suggests a wider scope than other firms, as well as a product architecture that has forensic security, optimization and integration capabilities, and targets legacy customer code bases.
Context
Fedr8's 2012 vision was to be a cloud broker, but it was way ahead of its time, and has spent the intervening period providing professional services and consulting to end users and service
providers. The focus was on transformation, especially around business logic (design and
architecture) and outsourcing services. Fedr8 brought in additional employees to meet this demand, and the team created a script-based modeler to optimize applications when they move into the cloud – any cloud. This is the seed corn for a new venture called Argentum, which has been created as a SaaS offering to enable legacy applications to move to cloud.
Fedr8 had originally been looking to build IP around service aggregation to develop its
broker/management capability, but after visiting ServiceMesh, it realized that it was already far ahead. So instead, the pivot was around the modeling tool, which is being delivered as the Argentum SaaS. Henceforth, Argentum will be the core strategy for the firm, which will deliver professional services to support it – consulting, architecture and migration. Its engineers are now focused on product development while Fedr8 is focused on delivery.
Technology
Argentum enables organizations to evaluate any code, written in any language, uploading code bases into its analysis engine. It creates a map of the entire application, along with actionable business intelligence on security, compliance, flexibility, and ongoing management and development considerations. It has three tools:
A dashboard to drill down into detailed results to understand the overall size, complexity and key ❍
relationships within code, as well as insight into the security, optimization and integration opportunities.
An analysis report detailing the structure, key elements and relationships within the application, ❍
along with explicit identification of areas of code that provide opportunities to enhance security, optimize performance and enable integration into native cloud services.
It also provides access to the core graphical GEXF file to enable users to manipulate and further ❍
interrogate applications.
Argentum differentiates from RiverMeadow, AppZero, RackWare, Racemi and other firms with its emphasis on source – not just commercial software – and taking that into the cloud. It also has a wider remit than simply containerizing applications. Its analytics engine examines how applications can take advantage of cloud-native features. For example, in security, it doesn't do pen-testing, but does ensure that input fields are validated correctly, capturing SQL injection. It also examines redundancy and under-use to optimize resource and license use. It will optimize code to deliver more instances per VM. It looks at I/O to determine what usage characteristics will look like and offer service selection (best execution venue) according to the statefulness of an application's requirement and a provider's service capability around optimization and integration. It provides a forensic health check and provides reports with actionable outcomes.
It's currently a read-only environment, meaning it doesn't make changes; however, it can produce a statement of work to deliver them. It can work with virtual and nonvirtual environments and a range of languages. The Argentum analytics engine has a rule set, and is finding an average of 14
vulnerabilities per application, based on which it can then recommend migration and optimization strategies. It defines what changes will need to be made, regardless of where the application currently resides (e.g., from Cobol to Python).
Business model
Camberley, UK-based Fedr8 was founded at the beginning of 2012 by former Computacenter and Fujitsu executive Dean Chapman, who has been joined by Rhys Sharp from SCH Group as CTO. Chairman Damion Greef and others have provided seed funding for Argentum. Its targets are
service providers seeking to move to cloud and enterprises taking applications into the cloud – both project- and globally based. The five-person firm has focused on AWS, Rackspace, Google, and IBM as a partner and reseller. It did around £600,000 ($995,333) in its first year, and less in the second as it found its legs in migration. It's targeting £1m revenue from Argentum in the first year.
It points to the likes of Dow Jones, which, on the back of creating new services for AWS, is now examining which of its other 3,000 applications could move to the cloud (a use case that featured in the re:Invent keynote in 2013). Its goal is to land 10 paying customers and an OEM in year one. Web Technology Group has signed a technical partnership agreement with Fedr8, and will use the Argentum tools to help its clients migrate legacy applications to cloud platforms. Fedr8 has also formed a strategic partnership with cloud broker-dealer Strategic Blue. Fedr8's plan is to create Argentum products for specific platforms, such as Azure onboarding, as well as targeting
CloudFoundry, OpenShift and Docker. Then it will turn to examining entire IT estates instead of single application work.
Example pricing for application security is £10,000 for a one-time purchase or £1,200 per month. Here Argentum identifies security issues within the application source code, both prior to migration and on an ongoing basis via integration of the Application Security Analysis of the application lifecycle process.
Cloud optimization analysis costs £5,000 for a one-time project or £600 per month. This identifies redundant, resource-intensive and I/O-intensive code, and the user can optimize applications prior to shifting to the cloud.
Cloud integration analysis costs £10,000 as a one-time project or £1,200 per month. This examines how an application can take advantage of cloud's auto-scaling, load balancing, email, messaging, MapReduce, databases and DevOps features. It also helps avoid lock-in to proprietary cloud
to an alternative cloud provider.
Application due diligence costs £25,000 or £3,000 per month. This provides analysis of all application elements, including size, complexity, security, cloud readiness and compliancy. Competition
The market for cloud migration tools is attracting funding for participants, as well as partnerships with bigger vendors and integrators. Racemi, RackWare, AppZero, CloudVelocity, ClouDesire, Appcara, RISC Networks, Cristie Software, Cloudamize, Dell, CSC, UShareSoft, Krystallize, GigaSpaces, CloudGenera, CliQr, Kaavo, ECmanaged and Flexiant Tap are all firms playing a cloud-migration card.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
Despite all of the excitement around the cloud, the majority of applications are still run on-premises. But a number of new players have entered the market with the aim of helping customers get existing apps onboard into the cloud. With cloud providers only likely to gain from easier onboarding, the stage is set for potential M&A here from the suppliers themselves and the incumbent management vendors, which have yet to make their moves.
Fedr8 has carved a product strategy from its professional services experience. It's a tough route – the pre-revenue company will need to deliver reference customers and partnerships to establish credibility.
Opportunities Threats
Public cloud companies such as AWS, HP and IBM, as well as large integrators and consultants, are all lining up to offer
customers migration tools for moving new or existing applications or parts of applications into the cloud. Most are partnering with a range of providers in order to assess capability and provide horses for different courses.
The likes of Racemi, RiverMeadow and AppZero are already funded and in the market. Fedr8 will need to assert its differentiation against these
Reproduced by permission of The 451 Group; © 2014. This report was originally published within 451 Research's Market Insight Service. For additional information on 451 Research or to apply for trial access, go to: www.451research.com
