Windows 8 modern apps: A peek into data storage options

BANGALORE, INDIA: Apps are gaining popularity across all platforms and devices. They often provide the most compelling feature at a quick glance empowering end users to make well informed decisions all the time. At the heart of a well-made app is the ability to provide quality and relevant data at the right time.

This article focuses on various data storage options available for app developers. Choice of language and the quantum of data to be made available also influences data storage options

In good old days, data existed in memory (of the human brain) and passed on from the teacher to the student, from a mentor to the mentee, from parent to a child and hence forth. With the evolving human clan learning to record better and better, data was transferred to different mediums and finally now they persist in memory (of computer chips).

There has been rapid progress and breath taking evolutions in the way data is now being gathered. As it became easier and cost effective on the storage front, more data is being stored. All data that is stored is consumed through data warehouses, business Intelligence systems, Management Information Systems which are manifested to scale in the form of parallel data warehouses and Big Data systems.

While this is mostly apt in the context of setting up data repositories, one trend that is fast picking up is data visualization in the form of ‘Apps'.

‘Apps' take center stage when it comes to data visualization. They convey key information and important features which makes difference for consumer to operate in "Always On" and "Always Connected" mode. Once an app is designed with an intuitive UI, easy navigation and animation to offer great user experience, attention turns towards the content. Data is pivotal in making the app useful for the consumer.

Windows 8 /8.1 offers a number of ways to store and integrate data. As an app developer one needs to be aware of the data storage options that is available from a platform standpoint. This article brings out some of the storage options worth considering while building apps on Windows 8(aka Modern Apps)

Key Considerations: Size of data often determines if data needs to be stored remotely or locally. However Modern Apps will tend to use both as they need data to function aptly in the absence of network connectivity. There are some amazing apps built to showcase just data alone. For Line of Business (LOB) apps, data storage plays a vital role influencing architecture of the app.

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(The author works with Microsoft Corporation, India as a Technology Evangelist)

(The views expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CIOL)