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# Cloud-nativeApplications- What’s the buzz about

Does going cloud-native require an immediate shift to microservices? Discover the six core principles developers use to build scalable, resilient architectures without vendor lock-in.

- **Speakers:** Jens Eickmeyer
- **Event:** WeAreDevelopers LIVE
- **Published:** October 12, 2020
- **Duration:** 43:36
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/55-cloud-nativeapplications-what-s-the-buzz-about

## Summary

The definition of "cloud native" often varies across industry giants like Google, Microsoft, and the CNCF, but true cloud-native applications share fundamental characteristics built to thrive in dynamic, scalable environments. Rather than a strict reliance on specific technologies, building for the cloud centers on six core principles: dynamic resource scaling, robust automation via APIs, container orchestration, utilizing managed services, architectural decoupling, and targeted use of microservices. Many organizations mistakenly believe that migrating to the cloud requires an immediate shift to microservices, public cloud vendors, or serverless functions. However, developers can achieve cloud-native benefits within private clouds or monolithic structures by focusing on modular design and resilient infrastructure patterns. By adopting a vendor-agnostic foundation utilizing orchestrators like Kubernetes, teams can leverage scalable capabilities while mitigating the risks of vendor lock-in.

To successfully modernize an existing application or build a new one, engineering teams should establish a baseline with containerization. Optimizing Docker image startup times and externalizing configuration via environment variables—a nod to the principles of the 12-Factor App—paves the way for agile deployments. From there, establishing rigorous build automation is critical; developers must enforce code quality, high integration test coverage, and partial builds on pull requests to safeguard the main branch. This robust CI/CD pipeline ultimately enables automated, zero-downtime deployments. As the application matures, teams can integrate higher-level managed services like API gateways or message queues to reduce operational overhead. Furthermore, ensuring that state management is decoupled from individual application instances allows for seamless horizontal scaling and fault tolerance. While the foundational concepts of continuous delivery and declarative infrastructure are a decade old, modern orchestration tooling has now made digital transformation and resilient cloud architecture accessible to the modern enterprise.

**Keywords:** cloud-native application architecture, nist cloud computing definition, application containerization deployment, docker image optimization, kubernetes vendor lock-in prevention, zero-downtime deployment strategies, 12-factor app configuration, microservices decoupling patterns, ci/cd pipeline automation, public cloud managed services, stateless application management, serverless architecture adoption, legacy application modernization, pull request partial builds, distributed system resiliency

## Chapters

1. **Defining the fundamental characteristics of cloud computing** (02:37) — The National Institute of Standards criteria explain how elasticity and shared infrastructure define cloud environments.
1. **Comparing industry definitions of cloud-native applications** (05:18) — Major global technology companies define cloud-native platforms through combinations of continuous delivery and container orchestration concepts.
1. **Core characteristics of reliable cloud-native architectures** (11:17) — Applications designed for dynamic scalability consistently leverage robust automation layers alongside fully managed system decoupling.
1. **Business benefits of cloud infrastructure orchestration** (14:17) — Leveraging distributed platforms significantly reduces runtime administrative workloads while maximizing hardware utilization metrics.
1. **Debunking common cloud-native application architecture myths** (18:45) — Engineering teams can implement resilient native patterns without unconditionally migrating to complex microservices or exclusive serverless infrastructures.
1. **Containerizing applications and externalizing system configuration** (26:18) — Packaging codebases into standardized containers and passing contextual runtime configurations via environment variables enables predictable software distribution.
1. **Automating software builds and system test coverage** (29:17) — Executing selective automated integrations and exhaustive tests during pull requests actively safeguards production clusters against codebase regressions.
1. **Achieving zero-downtime automated software deployment strategies** (31:56) — Standardizing automated deployment mechanisms alongside instant health validations allows continuous platform updates without interrupting user traffic.
1. **Adopting managed services for infrastructure maintenance reduction** (34:01) — Offloading core persistence layers and traffic routing to fully managed offerings shifts heavy maintenance burdens onto reliable vendors.
1. **Handling application state and global system decoupling** (35:33) — Externalizing user session records and employing robust asynchronous messaging workflows effectively prepares legacy applications for horizontally distributed scaling.
1. **The historical context of cloud-native software patterns** (39:25) — Modern technical acceleration strategies continually adapt established engineering frameworks like the twelve-factor methodology to radically support dynamic business transformation.

## Related Moments

- [Transitioning to cloud native hyperscale applications](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/813-fifty-shades-of-kubernetes-autoscaling) (from "Fifty Shades of Kubernetes Autoscaling")
- [Introduction to distributed application patterns and infrastructure requirements](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1197-dapr-in-practice) (from "Dapr in Practice")
- [Introduction to cloud native infrastructure and platform engineering](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/885-platform-engineering-vs-devops-why-not-both) (from "Platform Engineering vs. DevOps Why not both?")
- [Challenges of building cloud native microservices applications](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1528-developing-asp-net-core-microservices-with-dapr-a-practical-guide) (from "Developing ASP.NET Core Microservices with Dapr: A practical guide")
- [Defining the modern application software supply chain](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/468-securing-your-application-software-supply-chain) (from "Securing your application software supply-chain")
- [Introduction to cloud-native application developer security](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/416-capture-the-flag-101) (from "Capture the Flag 101")

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