The 21st Century’s first 2 decades will always be remembered for ushering an era of massive transformation, especially in the way businesses operate. We have seen how the businesses have changed completely, the way of interaction with the customers have been completely changed, and this has happened due to the evolution of technology and increasing usage of Softwares. Every organization wants to capture as much market as possible by incorporating innovative technology and other advancements in software development. In order to develop a custom application for a business, it is important to understand its nature, the workflows, and end-user demands. However, the most important aspect of software development is the choice of Technology, as this aspect helps the development team to design and deploy a successful solution for the business.
If we talk about the software development technologies, then .Net has established itself as a workhorse and a reliable option for software development firms. It was Introduced in the last decade and since then it has attained a massive following among technology enthusiasts, due to its reliability, tried and tested architecture, and offering of innovative features
Microsoft is known for addressing the demands of markets in this highly dynamic technology era. Microsoft has coined this exceptional .Net Framework to enable developers to create feature-rich applications and highly dynamic websites. .Net comes with the market-beating server-side scripting technology, which makes it the best choice for hosting websites and applications. One of the biggest achievements Microsoft has gained is the ability to scale the businesses at a glance. The .Net framework is relatively easy to deploy, which helps businesses to host compelling applications that always remain in high demand.
Microsoft developed .Net by focusing on the 3 basic development issues in mind. These were the development timelines, development cost, and development flexibility. The development companies were mired with these challenges and Microsoft served the just purpose for them when it launched .NET Framework in the technical marketplace, it has been growing exponentially since then. Microsoft has been adding new features and capabilities frequently to keep the .Net platform ahead of its competitors.
Why is .Net Framework the Choice of Businesses ?
Initially, the software development paradigm was more inclined towards the mighty Java and JavaScript. However, Microsoft launched the .Net framework and positioned it as a credible competitor for the Java ecosystem. The software development firms gradually started understanding that the .Net framework is geared towards the development of multiple enterprise applications. Microsoft was successful in pushing the sentiment that the .Net framework is very much suitable and capable of handling the development of software solutions like Inventory, CRM, healthcare, accounting, hospitality, and banking to name a few. In a couple of years .Net framework established itself as the most suitable framework for the development of scaled and robust enterprise applications.
.Net offers a unique development environment and it allows utilization of reusable library components, which comes as a big helping hand for software developers. As we said earlier, Microsoft should be given due credit for keeping this platform updated frequently, they added the features, capabilities, and multiple benefits in the .Net platform, which ensures the developers can easily incorporate those into their programs and develop world-class enterprise applications with so much ease.
What are the Benefits of .Net Application Development for Business?
Let us take a glance of the advantages offered by the .NET for a robust and successful business application development.
Enhanced Security
One of the biggest advantages of opting for .Net for business is certainly the security standards offered by the framework. Microsoft ensured that applications should have an adequate level of security to stay afloat in such a vulnerable technical marketplace. .Net has been offering strong security protocols since the beginning of its lifecycle, and certainly, it was not influenced by any other framework or platform. These security protocols are automatically added to the software while developers deploy an application, and it considers security as a primary need for any business today.
There is no doubt that even a small security flaw in a business application may result in the massive failure of an application and a potential loss of revenue and reputation for the business. We usually read about security threats, virus attacks, or hacker attacks on corporate applications, which sometimes result in the loss of user data as well. Such instances could be extremely fatal for a business and may lead to the loss of brand image, loss of vendors, and customer confidence as well. To prevent unnecessary security risks and to manage a brand reputation, the .Net framework is certainly the best choice for any business.
Multiple-Platform Compatibility
Earlier we used to have applications compatible with a specific platform or operating system only, but now everyone prefers an application that can function on multiple platforms, same goes with the businesses as well, as they want a single application that can help them engage their customers on all the available platforms. This cannot be considered as a technology trend; it is a critical requirement if any business wants to stay ahead in the highly competitive technology market.
We are living in a smartphone era, where everyone is using smartphones of different configurations and operating systems. So, it is necessary that an application can function on all mobile devices. With the .Net framework, it is extremely easy to develop and deploy cross-platform compatible applications with minimum coding requirements. Also, .Net offers different tools and innovative library components, that help developers to develop cross-platform apps with ease in lesser time. It also ensures that developers remain focused on the core development work, which enhances their productivity up to great extent, rest of the configuration and other dependencies can be handled by the .Net platform itself. Here, we have no doubts in accepting that cross-platform compatibility makes the .Net a big advantage for any type of business.
Reduced Complexity
Business and Enterprise applications are complex in nature, due to the nature of business and the kind of features they offer, and that is why such applications take more time to develop and deploy. Thus, it is important to have a platform or framework which can reduce the code complexity and reduce the development and deployment time as well. Here, .Net offers an extremely beneficial feature for developers, that is templates, that can help the team to streamline the overall process and reduce the time-to-market duration up to a great extent.
With a .Net template, developers do not have to initiate the development work from scratch, they get most of the basic elements already incorporated in the code, which makes their work easy. These templates are available in different categories based on business type, business nature, workflows, products, and services offered. Developers can utilize these templates through the development process, which helps them keep their focus on the core tasks, rather than wasting their time in the program detailing. This will also reduce the time to market, which gives a big advantage to the business while launching their product in the market.
Ease of Use
.NET platform offers one of the biggest class libraries which makes the overall development efforts quite easier for the developers. The ASP.NET platform is also an open-source web development platform, which can be used to develop modern web applications and services. It also offers an easy integration capability with almost all the Databases in the market, which includes ODBC, SQL, No SQL, and Cloud-based databases too. It also offers the exceptional capability to create customized reports and diagrams automatically from the database. .Net platform is also known for its easy integration capability with all the major cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud.
Scalability
This is the area, which is quite critical these days, as every business prefers a platform that can offer seamless support for application scalability. It won’t be an exaggeration if we say that the .NET platform is indeed developed for scaling and it is versatile enough to remove or add any class, component, or suite, which ensures scaling of any size and expansion or reduction in the overall proposition values.
.Net platform encompasses all the features that can be used to develop applications that can be run anywhere and meet the emerging needs of the modern business. The applications coded in .Net are competent enough and fully customizable to handle any sort of load when they observe any sort of spike in transactions. This capability helps organizations to reduce their overall costing and the need to reinvest in the new software as the business keeps growing, also it helps an organization to keep engaged their existing customers while approaching the potential customers without having any sort of impact on the services due to application expansion.
Compatibility with Existing and Other Systems
With .Net application development, developers can build the software that can easily function seamlessly on desktops, mobiles, and tablets with glitches. .NET environment, codes, and parameters can be utilized to perform application development with backward compatibility, and it also helps developers to integrate the application with the existing or legacy systems of an organization. It also ensures that applications are compatible with cross-platform devices, languages, and frameworks. Thus, developers prefer to develop the applications in .Net.
Maintenance
Well, the development of an application is a big task, but maintaining it after deployment is certainly the most challenging one, as an organization has to maintain and upgrade the application frequently, as this ensures seamless availability of an application to the end-users, any sort of lapse in application maintenance can create havoc for the business and may ruin the customer experience. Well, the good news is that all .NET applications can be maintained by businesses very easily, and even they get round-the-clock support from Microsoft for their .NET products. Microsoft is known for releasing regular updates for its products, which helps businesses to keep their applications updated and ensure they are free from any sort of security threat and anomalies.
Vibrant and Massive Developer Community
Microsoft enjoys a vibrant community of developers who keep on contributing new features, solutions, and troubleshooting steps for technical issues on several forums. This helps the software developers to write fewer codes and integrate new features and modules with much ease. .Net-based communities are mostly centered around the development of enterprise architecture, legacy system support, and the development and maintenance of scaled business processes and workflows. This is the reason why medium and large-size businesses prefer the .Net platform for their applications.
Utilization of managed codes
Usage of managed code is very important for any developer, as that helps them to comply with the Intermediate Language instead of machine code. Businesses too prefer managed code as it helps them to improve the code performance and the application features. Additionally, .Net is an OOPS (object-oriented programming), hence it reduces the amount of code, as it eliminates the unnecessary code.
With .Net, developers can easily build fully functional websites with the help of an innovative base class library. It also offers several critical features like type-safe code, automatic memory allocation, integrated security, and deallocation that developers can utilize while using the managed codes. Developers can build several applications with the help of managed codes like dynamic websites, Product/inventory applications, Warehousing applications, PDA handheld applications, Customer relationship management, Accounting applications, Value chain/supply management, and XML Web services.
.Net provides better ROI
Return on investment is the primary thing that every business is concerned about. If we talk about the medium and large-sized businesses, then we can say that they have enough experience as far as management of their ROI infrastructure and funds is concerned, as they are conducting practical business like the start-ups. To improve the ROI of businesses, Microsoft has developed reusable codes, which helps developers to build the application faster as they do not have to write the codes each time they develop an application. This is a huge advantage, as it helps the businesses to keep control of the resource and time required for the application development, which ultimately reduces the cost and investment as well. Thus, we can say that .Net provides a better opportunity to improve the return on investment for the businesses.
Microsoft Stack – offers best of ‘Both’ worlds
The software development paradigm has changed in the last decade, and currently, we have far more options to write quality software compared to 10 years ago. This is no doubt a win-win situation for the Tech world, as this has forced the tech players to bring innovation frequently, instead of not getting complacent. Microsoft, which once attained the position of the market leader, was pushed back by its competitors due to several tech evolutions like the open-source movement. However, Microsoft has also shown the character and flexibility to adapt to the realities of the current technological trends. It started with ASP.NET, which embraced other technologies, most of them were open source.
Microsoft kept evolving its .NET framework, breaking new frontiers with multi-threading, core computing, and the addition of libraries. In 2015, Microsoft launched the new release, where the core of the .Net framework was open-source and portable to all non-Windows platforms, which was the step in the right direction of transparency and inclusiveness.
These continuous improvements have indeed improved the prospects of Microsoft products, as they already had the long-established reputation of a tech world leader. Microsoft developed its customized technology stack, which brings the excitement of working with modern frameworks and languages, along with the stability and reliability of being backed by a market leader with decades of experience in the development industry. This is the reason why businesses prefer to utilize .Net for application development.
Visual Studio Umbrella
Microsoft launched the Visual studio while keeping an objective to make it a one-stop solution for hosting IDEs for businesses. This vision is coming to fruition as most of the Microsoft and many non-Microsoft products offer an almost similar level of integration with Microsoft Visual Studio. Visual Studio umbrella offers a variety of services like software development with VB .Net, database development, and management with SQL Server Data Tools, development of iPad and Android applications with Xamarin. Visual Studio offers a quite familiar developer experience with a highly compatible and consistent user interface. Even Microsoft Azure works on the same vision, as it encompasses a variety of services like application development, application hosting, database hosting, and mobile services.
This Visual Studio umbrella removes all the complexities of distributed cloud infrastructure and makes the experience of cloud applications development consistent with that of application development in a non-cloud environment. For developers, it seems all the pieces are coupled together under the umbrella of Visual Studio, which makes the overall software development process very easy and efficient.
Wrapping Up
.Net framework was launched with a vision of providing a one-stop solution for all sorts of software development worries, and we can say that Microsoft has been successful in establishing it as a worthy contender in the tech world, which was overwhelmed by the mighty Java.
.Net comes with a plethora of features and capabilities, which makes it the most popular framework choice in the tech world. It offers some best-of-the-class features like complexity management, security enablement, and cross-platform compatibility, which only enhances its acceptability among businesses and leading enterprises. There is a famous saying, that time is the money, and the same vision is driven forward by the .Net framework, which helps businesses to save time and money both and improve their ROI in the long term.
.Net is the first preference for the medium and large enterprises, which require scaled applications that need massive customer engagement while no compromise on high performance. Such a scenario is possible only if they have the technology that is trusted, scalable, open-source, cost-effective, and which can make the business efficient in the long run.
.Net technology is massively popular among technology enthusiasts and developers because it helps them deliver exceptional user experiences and meet the growing needs of an
organization. Most Businesses are now seeking an enterprise application development solution, that can help them develop fast and offer flexibility for future growth as well. This is where the .NET technology comes and ticks all the boxes.
Gourav Sharma is a Digital Marketing Strategist at Arka Softwares, a leading mobile app development company. He has 4 years of experience in the Information Technology industry. He spends his time reading about new trends in Digital Marketing and the latest app development technologies.
