In a recent series of articles on the GovDevSecOpsHub, we discussed Kubernetes and how it has become an integral part of the application development and deployment process for application development teams that work with or on behalf of the federal government.
How widely adopted is Kubernetes? According to a recent study, 99 percent of all organizations are executing digital transformation initiatives, and 75 percent of those organizations are utilizing Kubernetes as a central component of their development operations.
Unfortunately, the use of a container orchestration platform like Kubernetes can be challenging. It requires experience and expertise working in a cloud-native landscape, and can create challenges for even seasoned development teams.
In a recent article on the D2IQ blog, they shared three Kubernetes challenges that your development team may face, and how they could negatively impact your organization. According to D2IQ, these challenges include:
1. Intense Competitive and Market Pressures for Rapid Innovation
Regardless of your role, whether it’s CIO, VP of DevOps, Infrastructure Architect, or a Dev/Ops Engineer, it’s guaranteed you have felt the industry pressure to “always be innovating”, and adopt new technology in the process.
This pressure applies to Kubernetes as well. Since its introduction, Kubernetes adoption has grown rapidly and steadily, and shows no sign of stopping. In fact, 451 Research predicts more than 250 percent growth in the container-based technology market until 2020. With thought leaders extolling the advantages of Kubernetes, as well as witnessing your competitors experiencing its benefits firsthand, the siren call to adopt Kubernetes for your organization might be ringing even more strongly in your ears.
Unfortunately, the allure of this siren call can make many companies overlook the rocky operational challenges lying in wait. Remember, implementing a container-based platform like Kubernetes is a leviathan undertaking, and you don’t want to dive into it for the wrong reasons. Your “true North” for investing the time and energy that Kubernetes will take should align with your strategic business goals.
2. A Lack of Best Practices or Architectural Standards
There are many supporting services you need, such as monitoring, logging, and storage, to name a few, in order to use Kubernetes effectively. But there are no clear best practices on how to use these services, or how they will integrate with your existing technology.
There’s a great deal of information and documentation online, but it’s not all current or collected, and it won’t be tailored to your organization’s stack. If you look internally or externally for additional support and resources, it’s unlikely they will have the right depth of expertise to architect and integrate these supporting technologies effectively into your unique stack.
3. The Complexity of Managing Day 2 Operations
In many cases, teams get so consumed with implementation and everything that happens before production, that the complexities of Day 2 operations become overwhelming and threaten to capsize you. In other words, once your crew has built the ship and you’re sailing, how do you keep your ship in top shape so you can keep sailing, day in and day out?
The reality is that you need a comprehensive game plan to ensure successful Day 2 operations. In other words, you need to think about how everything fits together from the supporting services to the implementation to the professional services and training. That way, by the time Day 2 rolls around, your infrastructure is ready to handle anything, from bugs to security breaches, and more.
Kubernetes can provide the agility, stability, and scalability your organization depends upon, but successful usage is not a breeze without the right partner to navigate you to your destination.
To learn more about the Kubernetes challenges facing government organizations, click HERE to read the original D2IQ blog post in its entirety, or click HERE to download a complimentary copy of their eBook, “Kubernetes in the Enterprise: Uncovering Challenges & Opportunities.”
