A ColdFusion Server: A Marketing Gimmick Or A Huge Opportunity?

ColdFusion is a rapid application development platform

ColdFusion is often overlooked as an option in the server arena. It may be due to its name sounding like a virus you’d get from a dubious website or because some people still think it is dated technology. But for those willing to look past their initial impressions, ColdFusion is well worth further investigation. Here’s a guide to help you decide if using a ColdFusion server for your next project is a marketing gimmick or a huge opportunity. 

For those who are unaware of ColdFusion, let’s start with the basics. 

What is a ColdFusion? 

ColdFusion is a rapid application development (RAD) platform launched in 1995 by brothers Jeremy and Joseph Allaire. Six years later, the product was acquired from Macromedia, just to be sold again in 2005 to Adobe. 

There’s also a programming language with the same name, albeit it’s known as CFML (ColdFusion Markup Language). Many people in the software development world highly value Java, C#, and PHP and somehow underestimate CF. 
 
But, for some reason, ColdFusion keeps on rolling. And it does because It can perfectly suit small businesses and huge enterprises alike. 

What makes it great is that ColdFusion never stops getting better. With every new release, there are new features and capabilities that make it even more powerful and valuable. 

If you’re looking for a language that can help you create dynamic web applications, ColdFusion is definitely worth checking out. 

How about a ColdFusion server – is it worth it? 

As we’ve mentioned, there seems to be hype towards the “Big 3” (Java, C#, and PHP), and Python has been recently promoted everywhere. But if there is a name in the industry that has been there since 1995, and if it’s part of Adobe, we’d personally never underestimate it.  

Many ColdFusion server perks come from the CFML, which has a lot of utility and financially-driven benefits.  

Let’s see some key benefits that make ColdFusion a top-shelf solution for many companies. 

Brilliant syntax 

The syntax of CFML does a superb job in ensuring ColdFusion will perform amazingly well in dynamic web-app development, which is one of the key trends in 2022 and going forward. CFML is one of the best RAD (Rapid Application Development) languages, as it was designed with that purpose in mind. 

Terrific security 

Adobe has always been cautious about ColdFusion’s security, especially when they planned to make it a fantastic cloud solution. ColdFusion has been criticized over the years, but the truth is – it’s one of the better platforms in terms of security as of 2022.  

Learning curve 

As we know, learning programming languages isn’t a synonym for “easy.” Learning programming languages has become a roadblock that puts off many enthusiasts every year. Why? Because they haven’t met CFML. Within 2 weeks, people can learn how to use CFML, and in 4-6 weeks, they can be in command. You can’t say the same about JAVA or PHP. 

Rapid development 

CFML is a mark-up language that achieves results with very few lines of code. If it takes around 2 months to create a medium-size app with CFML, it will take approximately 2-3 times more to build the same application with Java.  

Maintenance 

What makes ColdFusion unique is the very straightforward syntax of CFML. It lets you build great applications which can then be easily maintained. It’s safe to say that ColdFusion server maintenance would take around 3 times fewer maintenance hours. Hostek offers ColdFusion server hosting solutions at an excellent value for money. 

Great for cross-platform development 

Cross-platform development is all about flexibility. What we love about ColdFusion is the variety of microservices and templates available at your disposal, and CF also allows the faster deployment, as well as debugging capabilities. Having re-usable components and a variety of templates make it an excellent choice for cross-platform development. 

Excellent compatibility with other services 

Nowadays, it’s not enough to be self-sufficient in the software development world. Being compatible with other platforms is an absolute must. Adobe are well aware of that. As a result, CF can use .NET classes and perfectly integrate with Java, which means you can incorporate it without considering many potential issues. 

Price 

It’s a benefit that many people would dare to argue since CF is a proprietary platform. Yes, there’s an open-source platform with similar capabilities (named “Lucee”), but it’s not the same as the proprietary Adobe kit. And while you do have to pay to use ColdFusion, the app development cost and the post-development maintenance would cost you much more developer hours billed. 

An evergreen status 

Adobe is not a company that will give up on its products. Quite often, they acquire a product with some flaws but a lot of potential and later turn it into a bestseller. And especially after the Adobe ColdFusion 2021 updates, we’re pretty sure there are good things to come. 

Adobe ColdFusion 2021 

ColdFusion has gone a long way from the earlier versions, like ColdFusion 9, to today. Adobe has a roadmap for ColdFusion, and they are following it. The latest version has: 

  • A very lightweight installer file 
  • Many cloud services 
  • Single sign-on 
  • Database without SQL 
  • Messaging services 
  • Performance Monitoring Tool 

And that comes on top of the standard features, plus lots of bug fixes and security updates. The current version at your disposal is CF 2021 Update 4.  

Websites that run on ColdFusion 

The best example of how good a server platform performs are its use cases. Companies like Boeing, BMW, Bank of America, DHL, Pepsi, and others all use Adobe ColdFusion. On top of that, many institutions like Cornell University and the FDA also use it. 

About Hostek 

Hostek is the only official Adobe ColdFusion service that operates both in North America & Europe. We have been managing servers for well over 20 years and have integrated different solutions for businesses from many industries and company sizes. 

Hostek’s engineers make your life easier by taking care of everything server-related. And instead of reading more, why don’t you schedule a consultation to see how our team of experts could help your needs? Contact us now! 

Tags: ,

Categories: ,