Companies are turning to container technology to transform application development, re-architecting, and deployment. In fact, 64% of IT decision-makers say they’re either researching, piloting, or using this technology today, according to the 2020 IDG Cloud Computing survey.
As its name suggests, containers package everything needed to run an application — including binary code, libraries, and configuration files. And because these components are contained and isolated from other applications, developers can seamlessly code, test, and run these new or re-architected workloads without interfering with other applications. This speeds development and deployment for greater business agility.
Plus, containerization simplifies the migration process; applications in containers can quickly be “lifted and shifted” — whether from cloud-based infrastructures to on-premises data centers or the reverse. This offers significant portability to meet business demands and IT needs.
That said, there is effort around establishing and managing a container environment. All the aspects associated with running applications in production must be considered – such as compute and storage needs, security, logging, and monitoring.
Enter Kubernetes, an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It orchestrates a multitude of container tasks, such as managing virtual machine clusters, load balancing, network traffic distribution, and more.
The IDG survey found that 54% of organizations are turning to Kubernetes to help them achieve the benefits of containers.
The Platform Matters
Rather than build a platform for Kubernetes themselves, many companies turn to enterprise-ready platforms. That’s because, although the initial implementation may be straightforward, as the number of containers scales up, so too does knowledge required to manage multiple containers. Companies need a Kubernetes platform that can coordinate all the associated services and resources across all these containerized applications, such as network permissions, systems allocation, backup, and updating.
That’s why organizations should seek an enterprise platform that takes into account the following factors:
Scalability. Developers must be able to easily and consistently deploy resources for containerized applications, with the ability to quickly scale on demand. The right Kubernetes platform is designed for out-of-the-box functionality to limit operational overhead, even while running at massive scale.
Security. Security is and should be a consideration in any application production environment. Exploited vulnerabilities can have devastating consequences. Seek a Kubernetes platform that is architecturally designed for immutability. This limits the potential of cyber attacks and enables security teams to seamlessly address vulnerabilities.
Integration. If your organization has implemented DevOps or continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), consider how the Kubernetes platform will integrate with these methodologies. The right solution will provide an interconnect or mesh that integrates workflows and solutions across the full stack so that developers can focus on their processes, not the platform.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, the point of Kubernetes is to ease management of a complex development environment. Look for a platform that streamlines and automates container-based services. It should allow developers to build applications seamlessly, securely, and consistently at scale, so they can be put into service faster and meet the needs of the business.
For more information and to learn about how the Red Hat OpenShift platform enables success with containers, visit https://www.redhat.com/en/resources/red-hat-openshift-overview