Scalability and Security: Why Ruby on Rails is Ideal for Enterprise Applications

by Shivangi

Over 600,000 websites have been developed on Ruby on Rails. It is a powerful and popular framework that has been used to create some of the world's most popular websites, including Airbnb, GitHub, and Shopify. With over 380,000 websites developed in the United States and 11,00 in Canada alone, Ruby on Rails is the preferred choice for many businesses.

In this article, we will explore What is Ruby on Rails?,  Is Ruby on Rails good for enterprise applications? and Why Use Ruby on Rails for Enterprise Application Development? along with the top ten Ruby on Rails benefits for enterprise software development, including scalability, easy maintenance, security, and more!

What is Ruby on Rails?

Ruby on Rails, or "Rails" is an open-source framework gaining popularity over the years. First introduced in 2004, it is built on the Ruby programming language and follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture pattern.

Did you know?

Rails is the 16th most popular programming language as per the TIOBE Index for February 2023, with a rating of 0.83%.

Why Use Ruby on Rails for Enterprise Application Development?

Top Ten Ruby on Rails Benefits for Enterprise Software Development

1. Rapid development

Ruby on Rails has a set of defaults and assumptions built into the framework, allowing the developers to build the actual application logic. Rails also has a vast library of gems, which are pre-built software packages used to add functionality to the applications. These gems provide ready-to-use code for common tasks, further reducing the development time.

The Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture in Rails is another factor that contributes to faster development. This architecture separates the application into three components - model, view, and controller, making it easier for developers to manage and maintain the application's codebase.

Did you know?

Airbnb was originally developed with PHP, HTML, and Javascript. However, the company later rewrote it into Ruby on Rails because of its rapid development and lower cost. Now, Airbnb has over 150 million users worldwide who have booked more than 1 billion stays to date.

2. Scalability

As your business grows, your application needs to handle the increased traffic and data volume. This is where Ruby on Rails shines. Rails has built-in scalability features that make it easy to scale applications as needed. Rails can easily add new servers to handle additional traffic. It uses an application server that can work with multiple instances of the application running simultaneously.

In addition, using Ruby on Rails for enterprise applications, you can optimize performance using caching, database sharding, and load-balancing techniques. This allows the application to handle more requests and data without slowing down.

With the scalability of Ruby on Rails, Basecamp & Airbnb have been able to handle over 524.8k monthly visitors and 3.2 million daily visitors on their websites, respectively.

3. Easy maintenance

Ruby on Rails produces clean, organized, and maintainable code due to its design principles that promote the use of clear and concise code. This framework's Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture separates the business logic, presentation, and data storage into separate components, making the codebase modular and easy to maintain.

Furthermore, the library of gems in Rails helps developers reduce the amount of custom code they need to write, resulting in easier maintenance.

Companies like Basecamp, Hulu, and GitHub have already identified the benefits of Ruby on Rails. These companies have complex applications that require frequent updates. Still, they have been able to maintain their codebases with relative ease, thanks to Rails's clean code and modular design.

4. Security

One of the critical concerns for any enterprise software development project is security. Fortunately, Ruby on Rails has an excellent reputation for being a secure framework incorporating several built-in security features. These features help protect the application from common security threats. The framework also has built-in protection against XSS & CSRF attacks.

When it comes to Ruby on Rails vs other frameworks, Rails constantly stands out because of its focus on security. Even Shopify has used Rails to develop its application, which now securely handles over 4M merchants’ data.

5. Cost-effectiveness

One of the benefits of Ruby on Rails is its cost-effective solution. Since Rails is an open-source framework, there are no licensing fees, making it an affordable option for businesses of all sizes.

The robust ecosystem of third-party libraries on Rails also contributes to its cost-effectiveness. These gems can be used to add features and functionality to the application, such as authentication, database management, and more.

This is one of the reasons why companies like Fiverr, Diaspora, Couchsurfing, and many others have also adopted the framework.

Explore Things to Consider While Hiring Ruby On Rails Team

6. Agile development

Agile development is a project management methodology emphasizing flexibility, collaboration, and rapid iteration. Ruby on Rails supports agile development through its convention over configuration approach and built-in support for the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. This allows the developers to easily modify and adapt the application to changing business needs and market trends.

Hulu, a video-on-demand service, uses Rails to keep pace with the ever-changing content in the video streaming platform. Rails help Hulu easily navigate its vast library containing 70K+ TV episodes and movies.

7. Integration with third-party services

With Ruby on Rails, you can easily integrate with third-party services due to its collection of gems. For instance, Ruby on Rails can integrate with payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal to facilitate easy online payments.

In addition, Rails can also build APIs that integrate external applications with the enterprise application. By doing so, you can expand the functionality of your applications and deliver a better user experience.

For instance, Zendesk helps tech companies like Airbnb and Tesco to enhance customer relations through customer engagement and insights. And Rails powers the backend behind these services, making integrating them with client applications through its APIs easy.

8. Rapid prototyping

Rails also has a feature called scaffolding, which allows developers to generate a basic prototype of an application's views, controllers, and models with a single command. It helps developers save time and effort in creating the application's basic functionality.

With rapid prototyping, Ruby on Rails helps enterprises to test and validate their ideas quickly, allowing them to make informed decisions about their custom software development projects.

Ruby on Rails is often called “the startup technology” because it allows rapid prototyping and reduces the development time by 30% - 40%.

9. Faster time-to-market

With its extensive library of gems, support for the MVC architecture, and agile development, Ruby on Rails allows you to get your products and services to market much faster. Faster time-to-market is crucial, especially in today's competitive business environment, giving you a significant advantage over your competitors.

For example, Twitch quickly built and scaled its platform with Ruby on Rails, becoming the leading live streaming platform for gamers, with an average of 7.7 million active streamers each month.

10. Community support

The last Ruby on Rails benefit for enterprise software development is its large and active community of developers constantly contributing to the framework. The community actively shares its knowledge, best practices, and code snippets, making it easier for developers to learn and use the framework.

It ensures that the framework is constantly evolving and improving and that developers have access to a wealth of knowledge and resources.

Ruby on Rails is an excellent choice for enterprise software development. Its rapid development, scalability, and security make it one of the world's most popular web application frameworks.

It has also been trusted by some of the world's biggest companies, like Crunchbase, Dribble, and Airbnb. So, if you're looking for a reliable and powerful framework for your enterprise application, Ruby on Rails is the way to go!

Start building your next project on Rails and join the community of developers who have already made the switch to this dynamic and versatile framework.

Checkout here the 5 Ruby on Rails Best Practices For B2B Software Development !