Aren’t we all syncing or saving our photos and files in the ‘Cloud’? We all at least have an idea about the ‘Cloud’ that has become a common yet essential part of our ever-evolving lives. But what is it exactly? It’s basically a network of servers where data is stored and all you need is an internet connection to access it. According to cloudwards.net, by 2025, there will be over 100 zettabytes of data stored in the cloud and the total global data storage will exceed 200 zettabytes of data, which means that around 50% of it will be stored in the cloud.

Amid the prevalent usage of Cloud and with the help of growing technology, Cloud native application development approach has become a part of several businesses. But, do you know what Cloud native approach is? It is an approach to build and run apps across clouds – public, private or hybrid — for businesses with high velocity and need for frequent deployments. Merely migrating an app to cloud or microservices architecture doesn’t do the trick anymore. Cloud native approach is where the app is built and run with scalability as aim.

Let’s understand Cloud native applications better through these 10 key attributes:

1. Microservices:

These are single-function services that together form a cloud native application. Each microservice can be deployed, managed and upgraded independent of other microservices. Since every service is maintained independently, this helps in efficient management of the lifecycle of the overall application.

2. Containers:

The microservices are packaged as light-weight containers. The containers have high scalability allowing apps to be deployed without the hassles of virtual machines. Containers can scale-out and scale-in rapidly.

3. Languages and Frameworks:

One of the major advantages of cloud native approach is that each service is built using the language, runtimes and framework best-suited for its function. The cloud-native apps understand various languages.

4. Architecture:

The cloud-native architecture allows usage of platforms to become independent of infrastructure dependencies. Persistent services opt for patterns that guarantee higher availability. Like this, stateless services can survive independent of stateful services.

5. Application Programming Interface (APIs):

It is important for microservices-based apps to respond easily to user requests and maintain seamless communication among services. For this to happen, cloud-native services use APIs based on protocols like representational state transfer (REST)– for seamless communication, Google’s open-source remote procedure call (gRPC) — for internal communication services or NATS — to enable concurrent communication within the application.

6. Infrastructure:

Cloud native apps are deployed on virtual and elastic infrastructure keeping scalability in mind. Cloud native infrastructure ensures smooth and effective functioning of apps and improves time-to-market. Infrastructure includes operating systems and deployment pipelines to support the apps.

7. Operating system:

Cloud native apps do not function in accordance with a particular operating system as they function on higher abstraction level. The cloud native apps should operate independent of servers or operating systems. However, if and when a microservice needs a capability like solid-state drives (SSDs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), they may be made available through a subset of machines.

8. DevOps Process:

Every service that is part of a cloud native app goes through an independent lifecycle managed by Agile DevOps Process. Multifold continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) work in line to deploy, operate and manage a cloud native app.

9. Automation:

In layman terms, automation means minimized human inputs or intervention. To run large and complex cloud native apps, automation is inevitable. Cloud native apps can be highly automated since they implement infrastructure as a code.

10. Resource allocation:

Now, coming to the final attribute, cloud native apps align with governance model defined by policies like central processing unit (CPU) and storage quotas, and network policies that allocate resources to services. Let’s understand with an example, say in an enterprise, a central IT team defines policies to allocate resources to each department. So, every team in each of the departments can have access to their share of resources of which they can have ownership as well.

What can Aspire do for you?

Cloud Native Application Development has become majorly important for organizations that have high business velocity and are in need of frequent deployments. Aspire System can help you build and manage Cloud native application or can even help you migrate to microservices architecture and cloud native infrastructure. With 100% scalability support and accelerated app development, Aspire can make your business ready to take on a dynamic market.

Learn more about what Aspire Systems can offer — Cloud Native Application Development

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