Cloud-based IT systems have become the default in many sectors, but standard cloud products do not always fit organisations with specialised workflows. In practice, many companies still need tailor-made behaviour in order to support domain-specific processes.

A key question is therefore: can we keep the operational benefits of shared cloud platforms while still enabling deep, customer-specific customisation?

In the CIRRUS collaboration between SINTEF, Visma, and SuperOffice, this question was addressed through a multi-year research and innovation effort.

What the project focused on

Shared terminology and problem framing

A first step was to establish a common vocabulary across partners and technologies. This reduced ambiguity and made it easier to design and evaluate solutions consistently.

Composing standard cloud technologies

The project explored and combined standard technologies from major cloud ecosystems. On top of these building blocks, the team developed architecture, code, and operational processes to support configurable SaaS behaviour.

Validation in realistic settings

The resulting combinations were tested and showed encouraging results for enabling customisation in cloud-native environments without abandoning the benefits of shared infrastructure.

Why this matters

The broader contribution is practical: organisations should not have to choose between rigid standard SaaS and fully bespoke systems. With the right architecture and engineering practices, cloud solutions can be both scalable and adaptable.

The CIRRUS results were disseminated through multiple publications and presentations at major software engineering venues.

Selected related publications

• https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3338906.3340452
• https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-31646-4_12
• https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8818453/
• https://drops.dagstuhl.de/opus/volltexte/2020/11823/

Source

This post is based on the Gemini.no article: https://gemini.no/2020/06/snart-kan-du-skreddersy-it-losninger-ogsa-i-skyen/