Cloud-native is an approach for building and running applications that exploits the advantages of the cloud computing delivery model. When companies build and operate applications using a cloud-native architecture, they bring new ideas to market faster and respond sooner to customer demands. A cloud-native application is a program, which is designed for a cloud computing architecture. These applications are run and hosted in the cloud and are designed to capitalize on the inherent characteristics of a cloud computing software delivery model. A native app is a software that is developed for use on a specific platform or device.
Cloud-native applications use a microservice architecture. This architecture efficiently allocates resources to each service that the application uses, making the application flexible and adaptable to a cloud architecture. These microservices that are part of the cloud-native app architecture are packaged in containers that connect and communicate via APIs. Orchestration tools are used to manage all of these components.
Proponents of DevOps use cloud-native applications for their ability to promote business agility. They are designed, built, and delivered differently from traditional cloud-based monolithic applications. Cloud-native applications feature shorter application lifecycles and are highly resilient, manageable, and observable.
Cloud-native applications have seen increased use in recent years and are predicted to be the future of software development. Cloud-native applications solve some of cloud computing's inherent problems. Nevertheless, migrating to the cloud to improve operational efficiencies has a range of challenges.
This chapter from the book "Google Cloud for DevOps Engineers" explains how to implement DevOps using Google Cloud services with a focus on a cloud-native approach.
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A Cloud-native approach
