First Step to Kubernetes Maturity: Preparedness

The “State of Kubernetes 2020 Report” showed that Kubernetes use has skyrocketed significantly, to 48% in 2020 from 27% in 2018. This exponential growth is helping both Kubernetes itself and the ecosystem around it mature.

Previously, we provided an introduction and overview of the Kubernetes Maturity Model, a tool to establish a common set of guidelines and expectations, both from a technical standpoint and a business perspective. Engineers can use the model as a step-by-step, how-to guide; technical leaders can use it to identify challenges and set expectations; and business leaders can use it to set organizational goals and measure outcomes that impact the bottom line.

Step 1 of 7

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Which of the following best describes how you currently monitor and manage systems across your hybrid cloud environment?(Required)

Multiple separate tools for different environments

Multiple separate tools for different monitoring and management functions

Single consolidated dashboard

Custom built monitoring and management solution

No full monitoring and management solution

Don’t know

How valuable would it be for your monitoring and management solution to incorporate predictive analytics to help you identify and address system issues that are critical and not waste time or effort working through all the data and “noise” that is not critical?(Required)

Extremely valuable

Moderately valuable

Somewhat valuable

Slightly valuable

Not valuable

How do you most typically address potential system issues BEFORE they impact your operations?(Required)

Automated workflows and playbooks to remediate potential issues as soon as they are detected

An orchestrated response process that leverages automation, AI, and human expertise to rapidly respond to potential issues

Advanced monitoring tools such as predictive analytics and anomaly detection to proactively identify and address potential issues

Respond to issues as they arise, using manual processes and troubleshooting techniques

A combination of automated remediation, orchestrated response, and/or proactive monitoring to address potential system issues

Don’t know

Other

What methods does your organization use to control and monitor cloud/IT spending?(Required)

Centralized procurement processes

Pre-approved budget thresholds

Automated cost monitoring tools

Department-level spending controls

Regular cost audits and reviews

Cloud cost optimization platform

Approval workflows for resource provisioning

Native financial operations tools provided by the cloud provider

No formal controls in place

Don’t know

Other

Please specify:

Which methods do you rely on most to detect security vulnerabilities in your systems?(Required)

Automated scanning tools

Manual assessments

Vendor notifications

Threat modeling (for early detection)

None of these

Don’t know

Other

Please specify:

What are the TWO most common ways you prioritize vulnerabilities to address within your environment?(Required)

Based on potential impact

Based on exploitability

Regulatory compliance requirements

Based on CVSS scores

Risk-based analysis of multiple factors

First-in-first-out approach

No formal prioritization process

Don’t know

How do you typically handle system updates and security patches?(Required)

Automated updates and patches

Manually review and apply updates and patches on a regular schedule

A combination of automation and manual review

Apply updates and patches on an as-needed basis.

Outsourced update and patch management

No defined process

Don’t know

Other

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Now, we can focus on the first step, Phase 1: Preparation. This first step is understanding how cloud-native and Kubernetes will help drive your business and technical objectives. It’s an important step where goals need to be outlined and costs considered. In our experience, companies at this stage tend to ask where to start, and how to prove the business value to leadership teams.

What to Know About Kubernetes First

Kubernetes is an impressive technology that will allow you to solve many problems and future-proof your applications. But there are some things you should know before you re-platform: it’s complex, POCs don’t always demonstrate what success will look like, cost optimization won’t happen out of the gate and you need to work on your infrastructure and your app. Re-platforming, though, gives you many advantages: you avoid lock-in, gain high availability and scalability and join an active community of contributors.

As you start, you’ll want to clearly define the problem you are trying to solve to ensure that Kubernetes can, in fact, solve the problem. If for example, you are looking to cut IT costs by a certain percentage in six months, Kubernetes probably isn’t the short-term solution. If you need to provide a more reliable customer experience, Kubernetes can help.

Because Kubernetes is an open source technology, you’ll also need to understand the role and power of OSS and the cloud-native community.

Finally, Kubernetes is an investment. It will require investments in time and money, but this investment will help build infrastructure to support scale, reliability and security.

If cloud-native, Kubernetes and infrastructure-as-code are new concepts to you, it would be beneficial to learn more about them before tackling phase 1. If you’re already familiar with these concepts, then you’re ready to move into goal setting.

Setting Kubernetes Goals

The most important part of the preparation phase is to establish your goals. There will be a reason you want to make the move to Kubernetes. Before any cluster is provisioned, you should establish the goals and document them. Even more important is that these goals are aligned with business objectives, and there is a clear path to how Kubernetes maturity will help you achieve them. For example, if you want to scale to one million users, Kubernetes can provide flexible, scalable infrastructure based on users at any given time equipped with fast failover in the event of a problem. If the goal is to deliver an exceptional user experience, Kubernetes can ensure the app is reliable (if configured correctly) so as to not frustrate users.

Accept the Cultural Change

Adopting a cloud-native approach to infrastructure and application development requires cultural change in your business. It will require different skill sets, new team structures and cross-functional workflow changes. As you prepare for this journey, ensure that your team and leadership are willing to change and adapt.

There will be Challenges

Finally, know that Kubernetes’ maturity, even in your preparation phase, will come with challenges. You may be uncertain about where to start, who to trust or which voices to listen to. You may also be unsure if your use case is viable or translatable into the cloud-native/Kubernetes world, and you’ll need to prove the business value/cost to leadership. Look for help from Kubernetes experts who have “been there, done that.”