Cloud Native Challenges – Cloud native is a modern approach to building and running software applications that exploit the flexibility, scalability, and resilience of cloud infrastructure. Cloud native has its pros and cons; however, despite these advantages, there are some challenges to be aware of when adopting cloud native technologies.
Cloud native encompasses the various tools and techniques used by software developers today to build applications for the public cloud instead of traditional architectures suited to an on-premises data center. Cloud native applications are built on the strong foundation of modern design frameworks, microservices, containerization, automation, and backing services.
In this blog, we will explore six commonly faced challenges that organizations encounter when transitioning to a cloud native environment. By understanding these obstacles, businesses can better prepare themselves for a successful cloud native journey and harness the full potential of this innovative approach to software development and deployment. Let’s delve into the Cloud Native Challenges and learn how to navigate them effectively.
Why should your business become Cloud native?
Cloud Native Architecture has several advantages over traditional architecture.
Cloud Native applications offer tangible benefits for companies by allowing them to access these benefits through their existing infrastructure.
- If you transform your environment by adopting cloud computing services, you can then use these services for building apps using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
- These apps would be able to automatically scale up and down depending upon demand without any human intervention.
- Cloud native applications use different tools than traditional web apps. Security and compliance features built into these new tools may be useful when building an application using them.
- Deploying new code every day allows you to be agile and respond quickly when changes need to happen.
- Intelligent Scaling allows you to balance infrastructure resources according to demand so that you can provide valuable services at an optimal price point.
Adopting cloud native development practices will help you identify new ways to improve current, inefficient, manual processes inside your company.
The challenges of cloud native architecture
Cloud native computing (CNC) has some benefits but there are challenges too. It may be difficult for enterprises with existing, legacy apps to quickly become Cloud native. Cloud Native Landscape is Vast, and it’s easy to get lost in its expanding number of competing and overlapping platform and technology options.
You don’t just need to adopt cloud native technology or tools; you must also embrace its culture. Implement change gradually but thoroughly. It may take some time for people who’ve been working under an old system to learn the new ways of doing things.
As technology continues to evolve at an ever-increasing pace, companies will increasingly rely upon their team’s ability to adapt to these changes. Some companies use traditional systems that are tightly tied to their infrastructures, which makes them hard to replicate in the cloud environment.
If you don’t keep pace with technology enhancements, the market will overtake you before you even know it.
One of the most common mistakes companies making the transition from traditional IT environments to modern cloud architectures makes is failing to take an adequate look at their current infrastructures before they start building new ones.
An experienced technology Architect will help you foresee and address most of the below-mentioned challenges well before you start with your implementation. These challenges may be daunting at first but if approached correctly, they’re all manageable with the right skill set and a strong cloud strategy.
Here are some of the most common Cloud challenges we see when companies move from traditional IT environments into modern public clouds.
1. Security
Security isn’t something we think about every day, but when a major incident happens, it becomes clear just how important it really is.
As with legacy applications, Cloud Security becomes a complex challenge. It is crucial to keep an eye out for potential threats. As attackers expand their attack surfaces and exploit new vulnerabilities, companies must develop robust security processes to protect every aspect of their infrastructure from cyberattacks.
Hence, DevSecOps has become popular among developers and operations teams alike. Security is integrated into DevOps pipelines. Security needs to be built into every aspect of development by encouraging developers to think about security from day one. It cannot be left until later.
2. Keep pace with the latest technology enhancements
If you don’t keep pace with technology enhancements, the market will overtake you before you even know it. You cannot predict which tool will be most useful five years from now; however, it is important to stay relevant.
As time goes by, upgrading your systems becomes increasingly challenging. You may consider using containers, this is particularly important because they allow you to run multiple instances of an application without having to worry about managing servers. Also if your systems still have certain legacy components, they need to be upgraded or replaced with their cloud native alternatives to address this challenge.
We need to keep this topic for another day considering its depth.
3. Over-dependence on a Platform or Provider
During your cloud native journey, if you’ve become overly dependent on one particular technology or a provider, you might be stuck using tools or platforms even if they’re not the best fit for your needs now. It will also lead to cost leakage due to inefficient use of available technology and cloud capabilities.
Cloud native computing is essentially about using large-scale public clouds for applications where they’re most appropriate (e.g., web services) but keeping an eye out for opportunities to use private clouds when necessary (e.g., databases). One needs to address these challenges in order to seek maximum benefit from going cloud native.
4. High operational and technology costs
Cloud computing offers substantial savings by providing access to large amounts of computing power without having to invest in expensive hardware. Cloud computing is usually cheaper than traditional IT solutions.
A cloud native infrastructure is a highly complex system that must be carefully designed and maintained for it to scale efficiently. There are certain things you can do to improve your cloud usage. If not designed and utilized well, it can lead to budget overruns on cloud payments.
5. Lack of technical expertise
A talent shortage is one of the biggest challenges facing tech companies today. It’s usually made worse when there’s a skills gap due to evolving technologies and platforms.
As technology evolves so rapidly, companies struggle to keep up with new developments. There isn’t enough skilled tech talent available for companies to grow to their full potential. And even if they could onboard them, most would face challenges from legacy systems holding them back.
Legacy cultures, old ways of making decisions, and outdated skillsets can slow down the pace at which new technologies can be adopted by organizations.
6. Leadership Commitment
It’s hard for people to understand cloud native concepts due to their complexity. Further, there are so many options to choose from, making it even more difficult to make the right decision.
Executives who want to implement cloud native technologies need to first understand their significance, complexities, and challenges. It can be difficult to explain these technologies to non-technical people especially the pros and cons of going ahead with containers, microservices, horizontal and vertical scaling environments, so on and so forth.
Conclusion
There are way too many benefits to cloud native development, they outweigh the challenges it presents. With the assistance of an experienced technology professional, you can create a plan for mitigating the risks associated with using cloud computing technologies.
It’s a journey, not a final destination. Cloud native applications are significantly more complicated than legacy applications. By addressing these challenges through adopting a culture of continuous learning and innovation, we’ll be able to provide our clients with the agility and scalability they need for their digital transformation journey.
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