A UML Profile for Modeling Multicloud Applications

The benefits of counting with a high number of providers for developing cloud applications are overshadowed by the vendor lock-in issue, which makes it difficult for service-based applications to be migrated and replicated in new platforms. The MULTICLAPP framework tackles this issue by providing a three stage development process for building multicloud applications where developers do not require specific expertise on cloud technologies. The application modeling stage is described in this paper, where a UML profile is used for modeling applications in a platform independent manner. Multicloud applications are modeled as a composition of software artefacts, where each can be assigned to a different platform. This provides an intuitive way of modeling applications, and when integrated in the MULTICLAPP framework, makes it easier for them to be developed, maintained and redeployed in different platforms.