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Deliver on Your Cloud Initiatives with Containers and Kubernetes
According to the RightScale 2019 State of the Cloud Report from Flexera, three of the top four cloud initiatives in 2019 include moving workloads to the cloud, expanding the use of containers and implementing a cloud-first strategy.
As organizations address their cloud initiatives, it becomes necessary to develop solution architectures that meet their business needs. Kubernetes can be a valuable part of an architecture that supports a cloud-first strategy to run containers and enable the transfer of workloads to the cloud.
Containers as Enablers
What exactly is a container, and how does it surpass what you may already be getting from a virtual machine (VM)? A container provides an immutable runtime of an entire application—including the operating system (OS) needed to run it. With a VM, applications are less portable because they are built over OS dependencies. Imagine performing a critical OS upgrade, such as installing a new SSL library, on a VM. The application is not necessarily aware of the change and could fail in both subtle and significant ways.
Kubernetes: Cloud First
Containers don’t run themselves, however. They must be scheduled, scaled, networked, monitored and more. Kubernetes does all of this while enabling an organization's cloud-first initiative. Developed by Google to run its own suite of apps (Gmail, Search and Maps), Kubernetes is now open source and independently governed.
Implementing Kubernetes may sound like a daunting lift, but it doesn't have to be. Managed Kubernetes services, such as Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), is a good choice for significantly reducing management overhead. We at Woolpert are such big fans that our recently launched STREAM:RASTER runs on GKE and serves OGC WMTS image tiles directly from a GKE cluster.
Google Kubernetes Engine
Not limited to the public cloud, Kubernetes also runs on-premises workloads with solutions like Anthos. This capability supports moving some workloads to the cloud while running others on premise. Anthos’ key advantage is a “single pane of glass,” meaning that one can monitor, manage and deploy to mixed hosted and on-premise infrastructure using the exact same management tools and services.
Woolpert: Your Cloud Partner
The successful deployment of a containerized infrastructure requires strategic planning and a solid partner. Woolpert can help. As a Google Cloud Partner, we not only use Google Cloud for our customers, but also within our own products.
Whether you need to move a single application to the cloud quickly or you need help determining exactly what the cloud can do for your large enterprise infrastructure, we can jumpstart your journey. Regardless of your journey’s requirements, we have a process to simplify and optimize your cloud transition.
Woolpert Innovation Engagement Methodology
Give us a call or contact us at CloudSuccess@woolpert.com.
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