Effective container strategies: Future-proof with Cloud Native

On Wednesday, 19 June 2024, we hosted a business breakfast in collaboration with our long-standing partner for container technologies, VSHN. The event focused on the topic of 'Future-proofing through Cloud Native: successful container strategies (and how to avoid pitfalls)'. Expert speakers from VSHN and aspectra provided insights into how project managers can effectively plan and implement container environments.

The importance of cloud native technology

Mr. Aarno Aukia, partner and co-founder of VSHN - The DevOps Company, kicked off the morning with an overview of the cloud native approach and its importance to modern businesses. The term 'cloud native' describes a modern approach to running online services using cloud infrastructure, containers and orchestration. The global open-source software ecosystem is leveraged for implementation. It should be noted that the term 'cloud' does not necessarily refer to a hyperscale provider such as AWS, Google Cloud, Azure and so on. Many companies rely on their own internal cloud infrastructure or procure Dedicated Private Clouds as Platform as a Service (PaaS) Services.  In doing so, they leverage cloud-native principles to deliver cutting-edge services in line with the DevOps philosophy. He underscored that cloud-native approaches provide the agility and scalability needed to stay competitive in today's fast-paced business landscape. The adoption of container technologies such as Kubernetes or OpenShift enables companies to manage their applications more efficiently and respond more swiftly to market changes. The defining characteristics of a cloud-native application include:

1. Automation: Applications are standardised in such a way that they can be tested, deployed and, to a certain extent, managed automatically by machines.
2. Flexibility: Containerised applications can be run in different environments without changes.
3. Scalability and Resilience: Cloud native applications are highly available thanks to redundancy, graceful degradation and continuous monitoring.
4. Observability: Applications transmit all telemetry data required to monitor their functionality in real time to a monitoring and logging system. This allows teams to react proactively to problems and plan capacities and costs.
5. Distributed: Applications are no longer deployed as monolithic instances, but as a network of collaborative microservices.

Successfully implementing Cloud Native

The key issues to consider when designing and implementing container strategies were also presented. A key theme was the importance of thoughtful planning and architecture. At this point, Aarno referred to a statement by Dylan Beattie: "Architecture is the thing that's hard to change. (Architecture: The Stuff That's Hard to Change - Dylan Beattie (youtube.com)) The underlying architecture has a decisive influence on the way the components are put together and the application is operated: "It's a very different environment to the classic server-based infrastructures of the past.

The architecture is also important because container platforms offer many features for reliability and scalability. But the applications have to be ready for it too. Well-designed cloud-native applications therefore require careful design of microservices with clear lines of responsibility and quality metrics. Aarno emphasised that a thorough analysis of the existing IT infrastructure and a clear definition of objectives are essential for a successful implementation. He also pointed out that security and compliance must be built into the process from the outset.

Avoiding pitfalls: Practical tips and a checklist

Another highlight of the Business Breakfast was the presentation of a checklist for developers. This is designed to help them avoid common pitfalls and ensure that their projects are compliant:

1. Delegate infrastructure and collaboration to platforms
2. Assess (or have assessed) architecture for cloud-native suitability
3. Automate deployment and operational processes
4. External audit of operating platform and configuration

Benefits of Cloud Native for enterprises

Finally, the speakers and guests discussed the many benefits of adopting cloud native. Enterprises can increase efficiency, reduce costs and speed time to market. In addition, the increased flexibility allows for faster adaptation to changing market conditions and customer demands. We also had the opportunity to address specific questions from attendees and address individual pain points. Our event provided valuable insights and practical tips for organisations looking to future-proof their IT infrastructure. Thanks to the expertise of VSHN and aspectra, attendees were able to gain a deeper understanding of cloud-native technologies and how to successfully implement them. The event once again demonstrated the importance of continuously investing in modern technologies and strategies to remain competitive in the long term.

Coming up next: Stopping malicious bots in their tracks

We are delighted to invite you to the next in our series of events: As soon as the summer holidays are over, the aspectra Business Breakfast with Ergon Informatik and the exciting topic 'AI against Cyberattacks' will be taking place on 4 September 2024. We look forward to presenting the Airlock Anomaly Shield, which uses machine learning to detect and automatically block bots with malicious intentions such as content scraping, denial of service or credential stuffing. Please use the following link to sign up:You are welcome to register using the following link:

aspectra.ch/anomalyshield-breakfast