Cloud Development Environments
Cloud based dev environments (CDEs) are development environments you can deploy instantly. They contain all the tools developers need to do their work. Our CDE tool is called Cloudomation DevStack.
How CDEs work
Common
Architecture
Usually CDEs work like this. An IDE client is installed on the laptop. The client connects to the backend on the CDE. The CDE itself is either a container or a virtual machine. It contains the IDE backend, the source code repository, language runtimes, SDKs and other Tools as required. The software to be developed will also have to be deployed on the CDE but there are large differences between vendors on how this works.
Cloudomation DevStack Architecture
Cloudomation DevStack differs in a few aspects. You can choose any IDE due to the ability to cache source code on your laptop. Files are cached in a shared drive, so developers can access reports, logs or other documents easily. Developers have full access to the CDE via ssh and the CDE is a full VM which makes it possible to deploy heavy-duty software to the CDE. In our blogpost “What the Standard CDE Architecture looks like” you can dive deeper into this topic.
Benefits of Cloud Dev Environments
Increased Productivity
Like the local development environment, but without the constant troubleshooting.
Save Time
Developers can configure the development environments individually, use them in self-service and start working immediately.
More Security
Access to the Dev Environments can be revoked at any time. With an air gapped setup, you ensure that the source code is not on the laptop.
Cloud Development Environments from Cloudomation
Development Environments on Demand.
Cloudomation DevStack
- Deploy development environments instantly
- Cloud- and Self-Hosting possible
- Faster Build times
FAQ
Traditionally, each developer must set up and maintain their own development environment on their local machine.
Discrepancies between individual developer environments within a team and compared to other environments, such as production, are common and frustrating.
Cloud Development Environments provide ready-to-go development environments that contain all the tools that are required for development, already configured and ready to be used.
- Cloudomation DevStack
Cloudomation DevStack Cloud Development Environments (CDEs) are fully equivalent to local development environments. Complex applications can be run directly in the CDE.
- Gitpod
Gitpod is an open-source platform for developers that makes development environments available in an automated way.
- Coder
Coder’s goal is to move software development from local machines to on-premise and public cloud infrastructure.
- Github Codespaces
- Gitlab Workspaces
- Jetbrains Space
- and more…
We wrote about available tools in this blog post: Remote Development Environments: 7 Tools at a Glance (2025)
Download our whitepaper to get an in-depth look at how Cloud Development Environments work and compare all the vendors: Full list of CDE vendors (+ feature comparison table)
- Eliminates Setup Time:
CDEs are pre-configured with all the tools developers need, such as libraries, and dependencies. A developer can start almost instantly with coding. No need to set up the local development environment. - Standardization:
Team members work in a standardized environment, which minimizes inconsistencies and configuration drifts. - Increased productivity
The standardization leads to increased productivity. It’s easier to ship new features. - Improved Security:
CDEs provide centralized security controls. - Scalability:
CDEs can dynamically scale resources based on workload. - Accessible from anywhere:
CDEs are accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. It’s even possible to work with CDEs without an internet connection. - Reduced Hardware Costs:
CDEs can reduce the cost for expensive local hardware.
We created cost estimates for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. You can expect about € 22.00 to € 27.00 per month of infrastructure cost (pay as you go) with normal discounts applied this comes down to € 12/15/17, maybe € 20 per month per developer depending a little bit on your cloud hosting provider and of course the usage patterns of your developers.
Watch the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysgn0iUfiLI
Read the article:
Cloud Development Environments: Infrastructure Cost Explained
It depends on your use case. Take a look at our infographic or tool to get an overview of which product could be the right solution.
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