What is Cloud-Native?

Cloud computing environments are dynamic, with on-demand allocation and release of resources from a shared and virtualized pool. These resilient environments allow for more flexible scaling options than the front-end resource allocation typically used in traditional on-premises data canters.

Objectives of Cloud-Native

Native cloud architectures are designed to upgrade existing applications or make new technologies with straightforward values: quicker, higher functionality, and lower cost.

The benefits of Cloud-Native are reflected in its principles: 

Cost- Cloud computing removes capital investment in hardware and software acquisitions. It generates and manages local data centres (server rack, uninterrupted power supply for power and cooling, and IT infrastructure management experts).

Speed- Many cloud services are delivered as self-service and on-demand services, meaning that even vast quantities of computing resources can be delivered in a matter of minutes, usually with only a few mouse clicks, offering companies a great deal of flexibility and relaxation of not having to think about capacity planning.

Productivity- On-premises data centers often require a significant amount of racking and stacking, which involves hardware configuration, software patching, and other time-consuming and tedious IT administration tasks. Cloud computing removes the need for several of these activities so that IT teams can spend their resources on achieving more relevant business objectives.

Performance- The main cloud computing providers run on a national network of secure data centers, updated regularly with the fastest and most efficient state-of-the-art hardware. This offers multiple advantages over a single corporate data center, including lower network latency for applications and broader economies of scale.

Scalability- The ability for resources and applications to scale horizontally or vertically quickly and dynamically, with few restrictions on the hardware they run on.

Security- Many cloud providers offer a robust collection of policies, technologies, and controls that improve the overall security situation, protect data, applications, and infrastructure from potential threats.

Cloud-Native Applications- The Cloud-Native approach helps us move quickly, take reversible measures, and reduce technological risk. This idea is neither easy nor free to attain. It requires an important shift in the theory of culture and creation and several technological challenges.

Continuous Delivery, DevOps, Microservices, and Containers: the four pillars of Cloud-Native .

Continuous Delivery- Continuous Delivery is the basic incentive for cloud- natives to produce faster and gain feedback in less time. This practice allows developers to create, test automatically, and prepare code changes and check for updates to applications in different dimensions before sending them to their users to increase software delivery quality and speed.

DevOps- DevOps is how we overcome the cultural and technological complexities of a cloud-based approach. The word combines programming methods (Dev) and operations (Ops). It facilitates adaptation to the Cloud-Native environment to ensure that the organization continually produces quality software and maximizes investment return. As the market grows, so do the activities of DevOps.

Microservices- The architecture pattern effectively extends the software development and delivery process, avoiding sluggish techniques and monolithic development risks. With Microservices, we build our application in small services in an independent manner.

Containers- Docker Image Containers are, at their core, a way to package software. A container can operate in a consistent, repeatable, and immutable manner. There are no errors associated with moving the code from machine to machine since when launching new functionality, machine and code are deployed in the same container. Everything that the service needs, libraries, dependencies, and operating systems are packed in the container. It is similar to working with virtual machines without mounting a full operating system eliminating the burden and inefficiency.

A container is a virtual machine that is very portable and is less demanding in terms of computing resources than conventional virtual machines (that is why they are called light).

Containers are, therefore, a fantastic tool for modern Cloud-Native initiatives. They can run microservices, standalone functions, or even traditional monolithic applications.

Private, public, or hybrid clouds- A major attraction of Cloud-Native does not require a compromise of where these applications are hosted. It can be done in different cloud operators such as Amazon Web Services, Azure or Google Cloud Platform, or combined with on-premises private clouds. Cloud-Native is not limited to large companies but allows small companies – with enough commitment – to be more competitive.

The effective use of orchestration technologies such as Kubernetes, PaaS (OpenShift) or automation tools such as RedHat Ansible and Terraform begin to blur the line that separates local (on-premise) or remote environments, environments are running on virtualization or direct hardware ( bare -metal ) or the limitations of development environments other than production.

Types of cloud services: IaaS, PaaS, serverless computing, and SaaS

Many cloud computing systems fell into four general categories: service infrastructure (IaaS), service platform (PaaS), serverless, and service applications (SaaS). They are often referred to as the “stack” in cloud computing because they build on each other. Knowing what they are and how they can make it easy for you to accomplish your market objectives.

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

It is the most basic type of cloud computing service. With IaaS, IT technology (servers, virtual computers, storage, networks, operating systems) is leased and paid for by the cloud service provider.

Platform as a service (PaaS)

Platform as a service refers to cloud computing systems that provide an on-demand environment for developing, testing, deploying, and maintaining software applications. PaaS is designed to make it easier for developers to build web or smartphone applications without configuring or handling the underlying server resources, storage, networking, and databases.

Serverless computing

Via PaaS overlay, serverless computing focuses on developing device capabilities without continuously wasting time maintaining servers and infrastructure. The cloud service provider is responsible for application setup, capacity planning, and maintenance. Serverless architectures provide high scalability, are event-driven, and use resources only when a particular feature or cause happens.

Software as a service (SaaS)

Software as a service is a method of delivering applications over the Internet on demand and usually on a subscription basis. With SaaS, cloud services host and maintain the underlying technologies and programs and take care of maintenance, such as software upgrades and security patches. Users connect to an application via the Internet, typically through a web browser on their phone, tablet, or PC.

Unlock the full potential of the cloud

Comprehensive security

Enable an integrated set of security capabilities across the cloud-based technology stack, including applications, data, network, computing, storage, users, and PaaS services.

Maintain clear security and enforcement regulation overall cloud-based technologies and detect and avoid anomalous behaviours and risks.

Enable DevSecOps

Automate compliance over your program’s lifecycle and introduce frictionless security controls as part of your CI / CD networks.

Take advantage of continuous vulnerability knowledge and automatic risk prioritization across the native cloud stack and the life cycle of growth.

Investigate any tools and easily find the root cause of the misconfiguration.

Consistent security across the cloud

Ensure clear protection and enforcement across hybrid and multi-cloud systems and simplify security operations by increasing cloud-wide security visibility.

Adapt security decision implementation to hybrid and multiple cloud implementations of cloud-native software and perform incident investigations.

CNCF – Cloud-Native Computing Foundation

The importance of Cloud-Native is so great that an organizational framework has been created to guarantee that dozens of interested organizations’ decisions are made quickly and with transparency.

The CNCF Foundation (Cloud-Native Computing Foundation) is part of the Linux Foundation. It counts among its members the most important cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and dozens of companies committed to the initiative.

Among its most outstanding projects is to foster an ecosystem for the development of key components for the initiative such as Kubernetes (orchestration), Prometheus (monitoring), Fluent (login), Container and rkt (container execution) or CNI (Network API), among others. The result is that the foundation brings transparency to critical technologies for the future of computing, without the natural bias of a single manufacturer’s interests. This is how the CNCF leads some of the fastest development projects in free code (open source).

Challenges and considerations

Cloud-Native solutions are part of a fundamental shift in the industry’s software development model. Digital transformation involves the best practice in the development of software.

Cloud-Native systems are intentionally designed for a cloud model. They are designed – at a rapid pace of growth – by small teams based on each form of functionality, ensuring scalability, environmental portability, flexibility, and agility.

It is important to recognize that operating systems in the Cloud-Native Environment can change. Infrastructure and Operations: People switch from a more passive role, from maintenance and event protection to shift process drivers, automation, and business value creation.

Not all systems need to be transformed to Cloud-Native . It is something that the company and IT teams must agree to prioritize workloads on a case-by-case basis, considering their technical viability, strategic value, and return on investment (ROI). In addition to technological technologies, where we have a lot of flexibility to choose how to do them, the complexities of upgrading current platforms involve more sophisticated organizational change processes.

At TechSur, we are convinced that Cloud-Native will be a synonym for the efficient use of technology in the digital economy. It will drive the most creative companies (large and small) in the coming years.

If your organization is interested in implementing Continuous Delivery, DevOps, Microservices, or Containers with experts’ help, we invite you to contact us.