12 Reasons to Use (or Ditch) Kubernetes in 2023

As you’ve probably guessed from the name of our company, we are huge fans of Kubernetes. That being said it’s not always a good fit.

Let’s explore why Kubernetes may be a good choice for you (or quite the opposite!).

But first, let’s start with the basics.

What is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes is an (open-source) container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It provides a robust and flexible framework for running and managing container workloads across distributed environments.

At its core, Kubernetes aims to simplify the deployment and management of applications by abstracting away the underlying infrastructure complexities. It allows developers and system administrators to focus on defining the desired state of their applications rather than worrying about the details of where and how those applications are run.

Now that we know what it is, let’s explore why you should use (or not) Kubernetes in your company.

But first, let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

Containers, containers everywhere

Kubernetes today is very much a result of the exploding popularity of the container “boom”. The “boom” that started when Docker first made containers attractive and easily accessible to developers.

Today’s container scene has evolved much since the initial stage. But the value proposition stays the same.

Containers allow you to package applications and their dependencies into lightweight, self-contained containers. These containers are highly portable and can run consistently across different environments, such as development, testing, and production.

Thus, containers eliminate the “works on my machine” problem by ensuring that applications run reliably and consistently regardless of the underlying host system.

Which brings us to Kubernetes.

When is Kubernetes a good fit?

Kubernetes is perfect for containerized applications

Kubernetes is to containers what Uber is to taxis. Yes, there have been taxis before, but the ease of use is unparalleled.

While Docker made developing and running individual containers easy, Kubernetes makes managing whole sets of applications a lot easier (in the form of clusters).

Containers provide lightweight, portable, and isolated environments for applications, and Kubernetes offers robust features for container orchestration, including deployment, scaling, and management.

It simplifies the management of containerized workloads, ensuring consistency and efficiency across various environments.

Kubernetes is for scalability and high availability

Kubernetes excels in handling scalable and highly available applications.

Its built-in scaling mechanisms allow applications to dynamically adjust their resource usage based on demand. Kubernetes can automatically scale the number of application instances up or down to ensure optimal resource utilization.

Additionally, it distributes workloads across multiple containers and nodes, providing fault tolerance and minimizing downtime, thereby maintaining high availability.

Kubernetes is for microservices

Microservices architecture involves building applications as a collection of loosely coupled, independently deployable services.

Kubernetes aligns well with this approach, as it enables the management and scaling of individual microservices independently.

Each microservice can be decoupled and deployed as a separate container, while Kubernetes provides service discovery and orchestrates their interactions, allowing for efficient development, scalability, and management of complex distributed systems

Kubernetes promotes DevOps practices

Perhaps one of the most important aspects.

Kubernetes supports and complements DevOps practices by providing automation capabilities.

It makes integration with CI/CD pipelines easy, allowing for automated deployment, scaling, and management of applications.

Most importantly, Kubernetes facilitates infrastructure as code principles, enabling teams to define application infrastructure using declarative configurations. This is becoming especially relevant in the light of projects like Google’s Metacontroller or Upbound’s Crossplane (projects which we’re huge fans of).

This tight integration with DevOps practices streamlines the application lifecycle, promotes collaboration, and enhances agility.

Kubernetes cuts infrastructure costs

Kubernetes helps optimize resource utilization by dynamically allocating resources based on workload demands. It can automatically scale applications up or down, adjusting resource allocations in response to changes in demand.

This elasticity ensures that resources are efficiently utilized, avoiding overprovisioning and minimizing unnecessary costs associated with idle resources. Kubernetes also provides resource scheduling capabilities to efficiently distribute workloads across available resources.

Kubernetes simplifies operating in multi-cloud and hybrid environments

Kubernetes offers flexibility in deploying applications across multiple cloud providers or in hybrid environments. It provides a consistent abstraction layer that hides the underlying infrastructure details, making it easier to deploy and manage applications consistently across different environments.

This portability allows organizations to adopt a multi-cloud or hybrid strategy, leveraging the strengths of different platforms or transitioning between environments as needed.

Kubernetes makes infrastructure more portable

Kubernetes offers infrastructure portability, making it easier to migrate or move applications between different environments or cloud providers.

It abstracts away the underlying infrastructure details and standardizes the management and deployment of applications through its API-driven approach.

This reduces vendor lock-in risks and allows organizations to choose the most suitable infrastructure for their needs, whether it’s on-premises, in the cloud, or across different cloud providers.

When is Kubernetes a poor fit?

With that being said, Kubernetes is not always a good fit. Let’s take a look at when it might make sense to use alternatives.

Kubernetes is not suited for MVPs

Kubernetes is a great tool that solves a lot of problems crucial to scaling your application. However, if you’re just starting out with your product using Kubernetes from the get-go is probably an overkill.

Unless you have very specific requirements that time is better spent on the product.

While you’re still validating your idea try to:

• leverage off-the-shelf solutions
• use a PaaS provider like Render or Heroku

This leads to a more general point.

Kubernetes takes time

While Kubernetes adds some useful abstractions your team needs to understand them in order to fully benefit from them.

The concepts are not hard but, as with anything, you will need to dedicate some time to learning them. Especially, if you’re doing so on your own.

Even when you have a knowledgable team building a full-blown platform from scratch is going to take some time.

You don’t need to scale

Kubernetes is wonderful when it comes to scaling your traffic. And scaling fast.

Yet, when you’re just starting out you probably don’t need to.

And even if you do, you may be fine with a simpler solution such as AWS AutoScalingGroups.

Your app is mostly monolithic

Kubernetes really shines within a microservices-based architecture.

Why?

Becase it elegantly solves problems that are inherent to it, especially around service discovery and traffic management.

But managing a monolithic app is much simpler. As such, the overhead of introducing Kubernetes to the mix might eat all time you hoped to gain with it in the first place.

That being said, Kubernetes might still be a good option if your team is already familiar with it and you’re willing to invest into it long-term.

You don’t care about portability and multi-cloud or hybrid environments

Sometimes tight-coupling is good.

While Kubernetes does offer the flexibility that comes in handy when deploying applications across multiple cloud providers or in hybrid environments, if you don’t have such needs introducing Kubernetes can bring unnecessary complexity to your environments.

The bottom line

Kubernetes simplifies the application lifecycle, enhances portability, and promotes efficient resource utilization. It enables faster development cycles, seamless deployment, and scalability, making it a popular choice for organizations seeking to modernize their application infrastructure and embrace containerization.

That being said it’s not always the optimal choice. As always in tech, it’s all about understanding the tradeoffs.

If you do decide that Kubernetes fits your business’s goals, we’re happy to assist you with your transformation.

Contact us today and see how Kubernetes can empower your team.