Cloud-native is a term used to describe applications that are built to run in a cloud computing environment. These applications are designed to be scalable, highly available, and easy to manage.
By contrast, traditional solutions are often designed for on-premise environments and then adapted for the cloud. This can lead to sub-optimal performance and increased complexity.
As enterprises move more of their workloads to the cloud, they increasingly looking for solutions that are cloud-native. Cloud-native solutions are designed from the ground up to take advantage of the unique characteristics of the cloud, such as scalability, elasticity, and agility.
Because cloud native applications are architectured using microservices instead of a monolithic application structure, they rely on containers to package the application’s libraries and processes for deployment. Microservices allow developers to build deployable apps that are composed as individual modules focused on performing one specific service. This decentralization makes for a more resilient environment by limiting the potential of full application failure due to an isolated problem.
Container orchestration tools, like Kubernetes, allow developers to coordinate the way in which an application’s containers will function, including scaling and deployment.
Cloud native app development requires a shift to a DevOps operating structure. This means development and operations teams will work much more collaboratively, leading to a faster and smoother production process.