IT infrastructure is a critical element for any business that wants to succeed in today’s digital environment.

However, managing IT infrastructure can be challenging, especially when it comes to scaling the infrastructure to meet changing business needs. That’s why many companies are adopting a cloud-native approach to their IT infrastructure, and in this installment we address its advantages.

Flexibility, scalability, cost efficiency are some of the advantages of the cloud-native approach to IT infrastructure. Photo by RawPixel – Freepik.es.

Today, many companies are looking to improve their information technology (IT) infrastructure to drive growth and increase efficiency.

One of the most popular trends today is the cloud-native approach. According to a Gartner study, by 2023, more than 80% of enterprise applications will run on cloud platforms.

Interested in Cloud solutions and services? Here are some solutions from Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Huawei Cloud enabled by NULogic.

 

What is a cloud-native approach?

A cloud-native approach is an approach to developing and managing applications and services that takes advantage of the benefits of the cloud. Rather than simply moving existing applications and services to the cloud, a cloud-native approach involves designing applications and services specifically for and from the cloud.

Microsoft Azure specialists draw on the Cloud Native Computing Foundation’s definition to argue that:

“A cloud-native approach enables enterprises to build and run scalable applications in modern, dynamic environments, such as public, private and hybrid clouds. Containers, service grids, microservices, immutable infrastructure and declarative APIs are examples of this approach.”

This approach involves designing, building and operating applications specifically for the cloud. Rather than simply moving legacy applications to the cloud, native applications are built from the ground up to take advantage of the specific features and capabilities offered by the cloud.

This includes scalability, availability, security, ease of deployment and efficiency, in the following section we briefly introduce them.

API First and Microservices go hand in hand with the cloud native approach, here 7 benefits of microservices that you should know.

Key benefits of adopting a cloud-native approach

Tipping the balance in favor of a cloud-native approach rather than legacy implementations has significant benefits and advantages that result in more efficient IT infrastructure management, the development of much more resilient applications and environments, and lower development and management costs, but let’s go into more detail:

Scalability

One of the biggest advantages of adopting a cloud-native approach is scalability.

Companies can scale their infrastructure quickly and efficiently to meet the changing needs of the services they offer.

A cloud-native approach to IT infrastructure means that enterprises can meet customer demand without having to worry about server capacity or the outlay of significant and risky infrastructure investments.

So as Google Cloud argues, a cloud-native approach makes it possible for enterprises to avoid having to spend large sums of money to maintain peak workload levels.

Flexibility

Flexibility is another key advantage of adopting a cloud-native approach.

Enterprises can use the cloud to host applications and services that can be accessed from anywhere in the world, as IBM alludes to with levels of customization that were not previously possible.

The ease of integration and interoperability of a cloud-native approach makes it possible for employees to work from anywhere with an Internet connection, allowing them to be more productive and efficient.

Cost Efficiency

Enterprises can save a lot of money by adopting a cloud-native approach.

Cloud-native infrastructure is much more cost-effective than traditional legacy infrastructure, because companies only pay for what they use (on-demand).

This way:

  • Enterprises do not have to invest in expensive infrastructure to meet the changing needs of their market.
  • It eliminates the need to acquire and maintain expensive and complex hardware.
  • Nor do they have to invest large budgets for upgrades, maintenance, security deployment and support management, since everything is handled by a cloud provider.
  • Scalability and the ability to pay only for what you use can significantly reduce operations costs.

Increased IT team efficiency

Hand in hand with the above, a cloud-native approach makes it possible for IT management to focus on improving the deployment of security, networks and operations, or improving quality of service rather than concentrating on addressing failures and recurrences.

This is because a cloud-native approach allows enterprises to leverage automation and orchestration to reduce manual workloads and rudimentary management, freeing IT staff for more challenging or productive tasks.

Increased availability and resiliency

Resiliency is another key advantage of adopting a native approach. Native applications and cloud infrastructure are designed to be highly available and resilient to failure.

Enterprises can use the cloud to host applications and services that are highly resilient to partial or total service interruptions or failures.

Enterprises can be confident that their applications and services will be available at all times.

The native application architecture is based on redundancy and geographic distribution, which means that if one instance fails, the application can continue to function without interruption.

In addition, a cloud provider can also ensure timely back-up and deployment of a disaster recovery plan almost instantaneously, avoiding outages and minimizing gaps.

Improved security

Threats in the digital world advance and evolve fast and with a native approach security is built in.

Cloud-native applications are designed to be secure from the start.

With a native approach and as Check Point argues, security measures such as data encryption and authentication, artificial intelligence, threat detection and real-time response; are integrated into the application from the start, reducing security risks and improving user confidence.

Ease of deployment

Cloud-native applications are easy to deploy and update.

The modular and microservices architecture inherent in Cloud Native apps allows developers to update and deploy new features without service interruptions.

And as Google Cloud specialists allude, this configuration makes it possible to launch new features or decommission them almost immediately and without disruption, facilitating continuous development, testing and delivery, without the time-consuming processes and procurement of legacy architecture.

Do you know what microservices is all about? Here are the basics you should know.

Accelerated innovation

Last but not least, adopting a cloud-native approach can accelerate innovation.

As Red Hat points out, a cloud-native platform significantly reduces the time to develop and deliver new services and applications while fostering other benefits and advantages of agile development.

Enterprises can develop and launch new applications and services faster using the cloud and thus respond more quickly to the changing needs of the digital marketplace.

Cloud Native Approach to IT Infrastructure – Conclusion

While there are many advantages to adopting a cloud-native approach, there are some key considerations that enterprises should keep in mind.

First, enterprises must ensure that they have adequate resources to implement cloud-native solutions; this may include trained personnel and financial resources.

In addition, enterprises should ensure that they have a clear strategy for implementing native solutions. This may include identifying the applications and services that will be moved to the cloud and those that will be developed in the cloud; as well as the selection of one or more cloud service providers.

From scalability and flexibility to cost efficiency and accelerated innovation, enterprises can significantly improve their ability to meet the changing needs of an increasingly demanding marketplace.

If you are interested in adopting a cloud-native approach for your enterprise, Nulogic can walk you through the entire deployment.

We offer design, consulting, development, implementation, monitoring and support services to help companies implement cloud-native solutions with an emphasis on the eCommerce industry.

Do you have any questions?

Contact one of our specialists!