Scaling Up Enterprise Kubernetes

1. Summary

Over recent years, the Kubernetes orchestration mechanism has become the de facto target for deploying microservices, to the extent that many enterprises are considering it in their software delivery strategies. While organizations are embracing the principle of Kubernetes, far fewer have yet to deploy it at scale; Only 10% of enterprise respondents to GigaOm research, carried out earlier this year, have made use of the platform.

Figure 1: Enterprise use of containers and function-based platforms

If these are still the early days, and as technology decision makers look to build upon successful pilots or smaller deployments, the question becomes: what comes next? Planning deployments firm-wide can be daunting, as there is more to get right and, potentially, go wrong. The next steps will depend on where an organization is on its journey, the context, and the business goals as a whole.

In this report, we consider how to scale up Kubernetes, and ensure success, both now and in the years to come. Aimed at developers and development managers, application operations professionals, site reliability engineers (SREs), technical architects, and IT strategists, this report consists of the following sections:

• Benefits and challenges– scaling up Kubernetes and microservices for the broader enterprise, post-pilot.
• Setting the strategy- outlining a microservices-based infrastructure that delivers business value.
• Defining the platform- technology choices and operational considerations to ensure a flexible target for developers.
• Organizational criteria- ensuring the right non-technical elements are in place to move from an on-premises way of thinking to a cloud-native approach.
• Planning for success- summarizing the stages required to deliver on the potential of Kubernetes-based microservices.