Happy birthday Kubernetes
In 2014, exactly ten years ago, Kubernetes - an open source system developed by Google - was presented to the public for the first time. Since then, the concept for managing container applications has become an integral part of many developers' everyday lives. No matter which analysis you look at: The tenor is the same for all of them. The latest „Kubernetes Solutions Market Report“ shows that the total financial volume in this area, which according to experts from Business Research Insights was still around 1.7 billion US dollars globally in 2021, will rise to over 9.2 billion by 2030. Similar figures can also be found among other market observers, as well as the statement that Kubernetes is the fastest growing project in the history of open source software after Linux. The technology is now being used by a wide range of organizations, from small start-ups to large corporations. Container applications are increasingly determining day-to-day IT business and, according to Gartner estimates, will be found in the ranks of 90 percent of all organizations by 2027.
Microservices? Container!? Kubernetes!
This trend is easy to explain: cloud applications and projects to modernize existing IT infrastructures, which are traditionally based on a monolithic concept, have been sprouting up like mushrooms for years. In the end, it's all about competitiveness. The advantages of cloud computing and microservices, in which software systems are developed as a collection of small, independent units, can hardly be dismissed: shorter development times, more agility and flexibility as well as greater scalability and reliability. If you want to benefit from this, there is no getting around containers and Kubernetes. This is because the Kubernetes container approach is virtually predestined for consistent and reliable provision and management of microservices. Here, each individual microservice is encapsulated in its runtime environment including all dependencies, with Kubernetes ensuring optimal interaction on a DNS basis between the respective instances and providing improved load distribution. Individual services can be scaled automatically depending on resource requirements. High availability is also guaranteed by the fact that Kubernetes consistently monitors the status of each microservice - including automatic restart in the event of failures, immediate response to node errors and "shutdown" of conspicuous containers. At the same time, Kubernetes can update the individual microservices in productive operation without any functional interruption. Adjustments to applications are rolled out step by step - for stable performance. The ability to dynamically relocate applications within a cluster means that Kubernetes can manage infrastructure resources far more efficiently, thereby contributing to cost savings and a better user experience, which can tip the scales in today's competitive environment.
In view of all these advantages, it should of course not be forgotten that Kubernetes container constructs also harbor pitfalls. The ability to develop agile applications and flexibly design IT processes across diverse system landscapes is certainly not a sure-fire success, but requires in-depth knowledge and, not least, a completely new approach to IT security.
Security as the number 1 concern for Kubernetes strategies
Corresponding structures offer new attack surfaces, which are naturally exploited by hackers. The issue of security is therefore one of the biggest pain points for many development teams, as the latest „State of Kubernetes security report“ from Red Hat shows. As part of the study, 600 DevOps, technology and security experts from small to large companies around the world were asked what they see as the biggest security-related challenges when introducing cloud-native solutions. According to the survey, one of the biggest hurdles in many places is the unclear assignment of responsibilities. Only 28% of respondents assign these to the area of responsibility of IT security specialists, while 58% consider the developers themselves to be in charge. Only 45% have a dedicated and distinct DevSecOps initiative that is solely geared towards establishing processes and tools to merge the two areas, while the rest are still in their infancy or do not exist at all (17%). This is despite the fact that 90 percent of all respondents have already had relevant experience with security incidents in their day-to-day work with Kubernetes - both during the operation of the applications (49 percent) and in the course of a discovered incorrect configuration (45 percent) or obvious security vulnerability (42 percent) during the development cycle or as part of a failed audit. These statements alone show that a very special focus should be placed on IT security in container environments. In order for application security to be part of the development pipeline from the very first second, solutions such as Airlock Microgateway, which were designed precisely for these purposes. Kubernetes is now ten years old: the perfect time to say goodbye to the specific teething troubles, especially as this offspring is growing up so quickly.
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