5 Things to Consider Before Adopting Cloud-Native Architecture

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What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear about cloud computing? You’re likely thinking about cloud storage services, such as Google Drive and Dropbox. The advent of cloud storage has changed the way we store, process, and exchange data. It offers enhanced scalability, flexibility, and security.

The popularity of cloud services has escalated at such a rate that their market is projected to reach $331 by 2022. However, if you’re a business owner, it’s high time you realize that the potential of cloud computing isn’t restricted to storage. In fact, you can use it to power the successful digital transformation of your business.

In other words, it’s high time you consider adopting cloud-native technology to move all your business applications to the cloud. Cloud-native applications offer an impressive array of benefits over traditional monolithic software applications. 

However, if you aren’t familiar with cloud-native architecture, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the complexity of developing and deploying applications on the cloud. You also have to consider various factors, including cloud-native security and the cost of building these applications.

That’s why it is crucial to carefully analyze the benefits and limitations of cloud-native applications before you start using the technology. In this blog, we’ll take a look at the most important factors you should keep in mind before adopting cloud-native architecture.

What are Cloud-Native Applications?

Simply put, a cloud-native application is software that’s built, tested, deployed, and operated in a cloud-based environment. In other words, it’s an application that lives and runs on the cloud. It’s designed to let you harness all the benefits of cloud computing.

Typically, the cloud-native architecture comprises various components, including:

  • Microservices
  • Serverless functions
  • Cloud platform automation

However, the most crucial element of cloud-native applications is microservices. Each microservice is an independent application that represents a specific feature or function. Multiple microservices are loosely coupled with bounded contexts to form a cloud-native application. 

Cloud-Native vs. Cloud-Based

If you aren’t familiar with software development, you might think that cloud-native and cloud-based applications are the same. But it’s worth mentioning that cloud-based applications are just monolithic applications that are modified to run on the cloud.

Unlike cloud-native architecture, cloud-based applications don’t let you leverage the full potential of cloud environments. This, in turn, means they have the same drawbacks that are associated with building and implementing monolithic software.

Why Does Cloud-Native Technology Deserve Your Attention?

To begin with, 2 out of 3 business organizations have already started utilizing cloud-native architecture. Also, 25% of the existing cloud-based applications will be overhauled to become cloud-native by the end of 2021. So, if you aren’t leveraging cloud-native technology yet, chances are you’re falling behind your competitors.

But the competitive advantage isn’t the only reason you should prioritize the adoption of cloud-native architecture. It offers a wide array of other benefits, including increased scalability, fault-tolerance, and agility. It eliminates the need to wait for specialized infrastructure before you can start deploying applications.

Also, testing and modifying cloud-native applications is straightforward and hassle-free. This is because these applications comprise independent microservices that can be tested and rebuilt in isolation. It means you can continue to run the application while fixing bugs in a particular microservices.

Likewise, whenever you want to introduce a new feature or functionality, you just have to modify the corresponding microservice without affecting the rest of the application. This makes the process of deploying cloud-native applications faster and easier.

Is Cloud-Native the Right Choice?

It’s only natural to feel tempted by the excellent benefits of cloud-native applications. However, transitioning to cloud-native architecture can be a huge shift for your business and employees. That’s why you should consider the following factors before you delve into cloud-native technology:

1. Cost

Cloud-native applications are cost-effective in the long term. This is because they don’t need any specialized hardware or operating system to keep running. However, the initial expense of developing and deploying these applications can be quite high.

This is because you’ll have to hire a team of experienced developers to build, test, and implement cloud-native applications. Also, you’ll likely have to modify existing business applications to fit the cloud-native architecture.

Moreover, you need to provide them with the right tools and platform to test and deploy these apps. It is, therefore, crucial to calculate the initial cost and ROI to determine whether it’s worth the investment.

2. Security

Cloud-native applications are immune to the security threats of traditional software applications. However, they’re vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches. Also, the dynamic nature of these apps makes it difficult to detect and diagnose security threats.

This means traditional security tools and processes won’t work for cloud-native applications. Instead, you have to develop robust cloud-native security protocols to protect your apps. This, in turn, translates to increased cost and effort.

3. Integration

If you’re running a business, you’ve likely been using a wide array of software solutions for various business functions. It is, therefore, essential to analyze whether the existing software solutions will seamlessly work with a new cloud-native application.

4. Culture

There’s no point in building cloud-native applications unless your employees know how to use them. If they aren’t tech-savvy, you might have to adequately train them to use these applications.

This means you should prepare for a few initial hiccups during the transition. Also, it involves an additional cost in terms of training and onboarding.

5. Goals

Lastly, you must carefully outline your reasons for going the cloud-native route. Are you doing it because you want to optimize business operations? Or do you want to provide more value to your customers? It’s important that you have a clear idea of your business objectives before you start developing cloud-native apps.

The final decision on whether you should use cloud-native technology depends on the unique needs of your business and employees. Make sure you analyze various costs associated with cloud-native development and deployment before taking the plunge.

Does your company use cloud-native apps? Share your experience in the comments section below.

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