Background

Speed ​​is an important factor for business in this era when customers are looking for instant gratification. If the fact doesn’t convince you, the statistics might. An element as simple as a website’s load time carries weight. Statistics indicate that the first five seconds of a page load time have the greatest impact on conversion rates. So when consumer behavior has the greatest impact, it is profitable in the long run to modernize a business model accordingly.

The faster a company can develop and ship a product to its customers, the more likely it is to avoid problems in a fast-paced environment. Cloud Native as a form of technology is designed for this. It is a behavior-driven development model designed, built, and optimized to run in the cloud.

Cloud native applications can easily be mistaken as another tool for the digital first era or another platform. However, it is a complete shift to a set of different practices, automated testing, design, customer centric model and an accelerated production environment. With shorter delivery cycles and higher quality, working in the cloud native database requires a transformation within the entire development team of an organization.

➼ Why Cloud Native ?

There are many aspects to being cloud-native including

⇢ Infrastructure Services

⇢ Automation/Orchestration

⇢ Virtualization and Containerization

⇢ Microservices Architecture

⇢ Observability

There’s never been a better time to realize the full potential of the cloud by refactoring or rebuilding your applications cloud-native. In essence, this means that your application is built using modern cloud technologies and is hosted and managed end-to-end in the cloud. This includes writing code, testing and deploying the code, and running those applications—all in the cloud.

➼ Benefits for your business to go cloud-native

⇢ Reduced time to market.

⇢ Reduced cost

⇢ Improved customer experiences

⇢ Ease of management

⇢ Reliable systems and reduced down-time

⇢ Scalability

⇢ Increased Security

I highly recommend this book to understand Cloud Native Design Patterns in depth

➼ Why Cloud Agnostic ?

An organization is cloud-agnostic when the organization’s IT systems are not tied to a single cloud provider or do not rely on a cloud provider’s proprietary services.

Typically, services are distributed across multiple cloud providers to maintain and ensure the uptime of critical applications.

A cloud-agnostic approach has many advantages, e.g. organisation is not tied to a specific provider and has more choice and flexibility. In addition, organizations can rest assured that they will see optimal performance from their application, regardless of the cloud environment they use.

A cloud-agnostic strategy takes the inherent flexibility of using public cloud facilities to another level. When workloads and applications are built to run on any public cloud, preferences can be set to switch them between different vendors based on their performance and cost-effectiveness in the context of dynamic factors such as geography and the strengths and offerings of different vendors. Or if temporary technical problems occur with a provider.

Cloud-agnostic offers a level of flexibility that improves cost-efficiency even more than simply using the public cloud. Especially for organizations with heavy workloads, even small cost differences can add up to significant sums. And for many digitally-enabled organizations, incremental performance gains and insurance against technical issues on the vendor side are as much an incentive to become cloud-agnostic as cost savings.

➼ These benefits can help companies better understand what value to expect when developing a cloud-agnostic approach.

◼ Portability ensures that an application works independently of the platform and can seamlessly migrate from one cloud platform to another.

◼ Consistent performance is a valuable characteristic of cloud agnostic, as companies benefit from a standard of performance (speed and scale) independent of the platform or infrastructure the application or service is running on.

◼ Cost optimization is a primary tenet of a cloud-agnostic architecture. As pricing models change between cloud providers, cloud-agnostic applications can be migrated easily to run in the cloud platform that delivers the best cost savings.

◼ Avoiding vendor lock-in ensures that companies are not subject to one operating platform, but have the freedom to move applications as they see fit.

There are trade-offs to consider when deciding between a cloud native and cloud agnostic approach. Here are a few key points to consider:

Flexibility: Cloud agnostic approaches offer greater flexibility, as they can be deployed on any cloud platform or on-premises. However, this flexibility comes at the cost of potentially missing out on some of the specific features and services offered by a particular cloud provider.

Scalability: Cloud native approaches are typically easier to scale, as they are designed with cloud-specific scalability principles in mind. However, it can be more challenging to scale a cloud agnostic application, as it may need to be re-architected to take advantage of cloud-specific features.

Cost: Cloud agnostic approaches may be more cost-effective in the long run, as they can be deployed on the most cost-effective platform at any given time. However, cloud native approaches may be more cost-effective in the short term, as they can take advantage of the specific pricing and cost optimization features of a particular cloud provider.

Ultimately, the best approach will depend on the specific needs and goals of your organization. It’s important to carefully consider the trade-offs and determine the approach that will best meet your needs.

➼ Case Study of Acme. Inc

It’s not uncommon for organizations to switch from a cloud native to a cloud agnostic approach, or vice versa, as their needs and priorities change over time. Here is a fictionalized example of a company that made such a switch:

Acme Inc. is a software company that specializes in developing cloud native applications. All of its applications were designed to be deployed and run on a specific cloud provider, using a combination of containerization and microservices to maximize scalability and reliability.

However, as the company grew and its customer base expanded, Acme found that it needed to support a wider range of cloud platforms in order to meet the needs of its customers. Some of its customers preferred to use a particular cloud provider, while others had specific compliance or regulatory requirements that dictated the use of a specific platform.

In order to support these diverse requirements, Acme decided to adopt a cloud agnostic approach for its future developments. This meant re-architecting its existing applications to be independent of any specific cloud provider, and developing new applications using a cloud agnostic design from the outset.

To do this, Acme adopted a number of cloud agnostic technologies, such as the Cloud Foundry platform and the Kubernetes container orchestration system. These technologies allowed Acme to deploy its applications on any cloud platform, or even on-premises, without requiring significant changes to the codebase.

The transition to a cloud agnostic approach was not without its challenges, as Acme had to invest time and resources in re-architecting its existing applications and developing new skills in cloud agnostic technologies. However, in the long run, the company believed that this investment would pay off by giving it greater flexibility and the ability to meet the needs of a wider range of customers.

➼ Case Study of XYZ. Corp

It’s not uncommon for organizations to switch from a cloud agnostic to a cloud native approach, or vice versa, as their needs and priorities change over time. Here is a fictionalized example of a company that made such a switch:

XYZ Corp is a software company that specialized in developing cloud agnostic applications. All of its applications were designed to be deployed and run on any cloud platform or on-premises, using a combination of cloud-agnostic technologies such as Cloud Foundry and Kubernetes.

However, as the company grew and its customer base expanded, XYZ found that it was missing out on some of the specific features and services offered by a particular cloud provider. In addition, it was experiencing some challenges in scaling its applications, as they were not optimized for the cloud-specific features offered by different platforms.

In order to take advantage of the specific features and services offered by a particular cloud provider and to improve its scalability, XYZ decided to adopt a cloud native approach for its future developments. This meant re-architecting its existing applications to be optimized for deployment and operation in a specific cloud environment, and developing new applications using a cloud native design from the outset.

To do this, XYZ adopted a number of cloud native technologies, such as containerization and microservices. These technologies allowed XYZ to take advantage of the specific features and services offered by a particular cloud provider, and to design its applications for maximum scalability and reliability in the cloud.

The transition to a cloud native approach was not without its challenges, as XYZ had to invest time and resources in re-architecting its existing applications and developing new skills in cloud native technologies. However, in the long run, the company believed that this investment would pay off by giving it greater access to the specific features and services offered by a particular cloud provider and by improving the scalability of its applications.

Decision Making Framework

So how do you decide which approach is right for your organization? Here is a decision-making framework to help you weigh the pros and cons of each approach:

1‣ Identify your objectives:

What are your goals for the application? Do you need to take advantage of specific features or services offered by a particular cloud provider? Do you need to be able to deploy the application on multiple platforms, or on-premises? Answering these questions will help you determine whether a cloud native or cloud agnostic approach is more suitable for your needs.

2‣ Consider the flexibility factor:

Cloud agnostic approaches offer greater flexibility, as they can be deployed on any cloud platform or on-premises. However, this flexibility comes at the cost of potentially missing out on some of the specific features and services offered by a particular cloud provider. If flexibility is a key concern for your organization, a cloud agnostic approach may be the better choice.

3‣ Evaluate the scalability factor:

Cloud native approaches are typically easier to scale, as they are designed with cloud-specific scalability principles in mind. However, it can be more challenging to scale a cloud agnostic application, as it may need to be re-architected to take advantage of cloud-specific features. If scalability is a key concern for your organization, a cloud native approach may be the better choice.

4‣ Consider the cost factor:

Cloud agnostic approaches may be more cost-effective in the long run, as they can be deployed on the most cost-effective platform at any given time. However, cloud native approaches may be more cost-effective in the short term, as they can take advantage of the specific pricing and cost optimization features of a particular cloud provider.

5‣ Take a holistic view:

Ultimately, the best approach will depend on the specific needs and goals of your organization. It’s important to carefully consider all of the above factors and determine the approach that will best meet your needs.

In conclusion, the cloud native vs cloud agnostic dilemma is a complex one, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. By using the decision-making framework outlined above, you can weigh the pros and cons of each approach and determine the best course of action for your organization.