Enterprises get closer to the app store experience with Kubernetes and GitOps

3 years ago 273

Commentary: The large endeavor occupation isn't moving hundreds of apps crossed aggregate clouds; no, the large occupation is moving the aforesaid app consistently connected conscionable 1 unreality oregon information center.

Image: Lisa Hornung, iStock

We're utilized to getting mobile apps done Apple's App Store oregon Google Play, but erstwhile it comes to endeavor apps, the acquisition is dramatically different, and dramatically worse. According to Weaveworks CEO Alexis Richardson, however, it doesn't person to beryllium this way. Though we're possibly decades distant from endeavor bundle being made disposable done an app store-like experience, we're besides overmuch person to specified benefits than we mightiness think. The trick, Richardson said, isn't truly to finagle multi-cloud deployment of applications.

No, for astir enterprises, astir of the time, they're conscionable trying to guarantee consistency successful exertion configuration connected the aforesaid unreality (or information center). Fortunately, Kubernetes and GitOps person combined to marque this possible.

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Same app, antithetic places

This wasn't the archetypal clip I've talked with Richardson astir the endeavor app store experience. Nor is it a concealed he's shared lone with me. In fact, astatine a caller league Richardson addressed the taxable successful his keynote. What I hadn't appreciated, however, was that the entreaty of this "enterprise app store" isn't due to the fact that customers are clamoring for multi-cloud. Rather, it's astir consistency wrong the aforesaid unreality (or information center). "A cardinal happening you request to alteration the endeavor app store exemplary is erstwhile you bash a deployment, whether you're mounting up a clump oregon deploying an app oregon both, you privation the results to beryllium identical. So you privation to accidental it's the aforesaid app successful antithetic places," helium told me.

Now that doesn't needfully mean that each azygous underlying configuration is identical because, for example, if you're moving connected AWS, you mightiness usage DynamoDB but if you're moving connected Microsoft Azure, you mightiness usage CosmosDB. "But fundamentally for the extremity idiosyncratic it's the aforesaid application, based connected an identical acceptable of bundle components, and they tally the aforesaid mode connected the underlying services," Richardson said.

This sounds similar multi-cloud, but it's not. Not really.

You cognize multi-cloud: the thought that you tin instrumentality the aforesaid exertion and magically determination it from unreality to cloud, oregon tally the aforesaid exertion crossed antithetic clouds. Some customers bash attraction astir this, but for Richardson, there's a overmuch harder occupation to tackle. Namely, ensuring you tin deploy the aforesaid application, oregon instrumentality learning level oregon whatever, again and again and again, identically connected the aforesaid unreality (or connected premises), connected demand.

"This is casual to say," Richardson said, "but rather hard to do."

SEE: Multicloud: A cheat expanse (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Same. Same. Same.

If you're not successful endeavor IT, moving codification astatine scale, this astir apt seems similar a unusual statement. Surely it should beryllium elemental to guarantee an exertion volition enactment the aforesaid if you're keeping it connected the aforesaid cloud/data center? Reality is different. Say you and I, for example, opted to acceptable up Kubernetes connected the aforesaid AWS availability portion (Hello, US-East!), with the aforesaid instrumentality learning components. Same. Same. Same. And we anticipation to marque that level disposable to a information subject squad wrong our company. In the Apple App Store world, we tin beryllium moving the aforesaid hardware, OS version, etc., and immoderate underlying differences Apple takes attraction of. In the enterprise, contempt each that seeming "sameness," we can't cognize that the instrumentality learning level really is the aforesaid unless we tin comparison the moving systems with a configured model.

Pre-Kubernetes, pre-containers and GitOps, we didn't person this ability. Now we do. GitOps, Richardson said, "provides a consistent mode for immoderate developer to negociate the full stack securely, correctly, and automatically."

With the Kubernetes/containers and GitOps combination, enterprises yet person the quality to easy instal and run connected aggregate clusters and clouds. In turn, companies tin tally applications and infrastructure erstwhile they privation (shutting down services arsenic needed), portion automating the patching/updating of apps, similar consumers person with the app stores. And due to the fact that it's the enterprise, Kubernetes/GitOps besides ensures compliance based connected endeavor policies and verified operations. This is what enterprises want.

Most enterprises, successful short, aren't madly trying to determination hundreds oregon thousands of applications betwixt clouds. No. Instead they're trying to get hundreds of applications to behave, to beryllium managed, successful 1 place. They're struggling with foundational issues similar however to upgrade those applications, oregon make a caller region, oregon determination applications from borderline to determination other successful their infrastructure footprint.

And, portion they whitethorn not person an Apple App Store acquisition rather yet, we're getting overmuch closer, acknowledgment to Kubernetes and GitOps.

Disclosure: I enactment for MongoDB but the views expressed herein are mine.