cloudfacing

Cloudfacing is a term used in cloud computing to describe the practice of hosting and delivering the user-facing presentation layer from cloud infrastructure. In this approach, the front end—comprising the user interface, templates, and client-side logic—resides in cloud-hosted services, while back-end data services, business logic, and storage may be provided by separate systems, potentially in different clouds or on premises. The term is not standardized and tends to appear in vendor documentation and technical blogs as a description of cloud-first UI delivery or front-end as a service.

Key elements include a decoupled architecture where the front end communicates with back-end services through APIs or event streams, usually via API gateways, service meshes, or edge compute layers. Delivery often relies on content delivery networks or edge rendering to serve the UI closer to users, while authentication and authorization are centralized through identity providers.

Benefits cited for cloudfacing include improved global availability, simplified application updates, and a consistent user experience across devices. The cloud-hosted front end can be scaled independently from back-end services and updated with reduced downtime. It also enables experimentation with UX and A/B testing at the edge.

Drawbacks can include higher latency for dynamic, data-heavy interactions if not properly managed, data residency and compliance concerns, potential vendor lock-in, and complexity in securing end-to-end trust between cloud-hosted front ends and back-end services.

Common use cases are software as a service portals, consumer applications with worldwide reach, and enterprise apps that require a unified UI across multiple cloud environments or on-prem networks. See also cloud computing, edge computing, front-end architecture, and content delivery networks.