10 Key Forecasts for Cloud Native Technology in 2021
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Chapter 1: Overview of Cloud Native Predictions
In January, I shared a summary of the 2020 CNCF Annual Report, highlighting important updates from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). Recently, at the DevOps Conference 2021, Cheryl Hung, the CNCF VP of Ecosystem, offered her insights on what to expect in the realm of cloud native for the year ahead. With her extensive involvement in CNCF activities and her interactions with various contributors and organizations transitioning to cloud solutions, Cheryl provides a valuable viewpoint. Below is a concise recap of her keynote along with my reflections as an engineer navigating this domain.
Section 1.1: Notable Trends in Technology
Cheryl initiated her presentation by outlining four key predictions for the technology landscape:
- Increased use of Rust within Cloud Native
- The reality of Cross Cloud deployments
- The rise of Web Assembly and eBPF
- Kubernetes making strides at the Edge
From an ecosystem standpoint, the majority of cloud-native projects detailed on devstats.cncf.io are developed using Go. As a Kubernetes user, I’ve noticed that most tools I rely on are also built with Go, alongside some NodeJs/TypeScript and shell scripts. However, there's a noticeable uptick in interest around Rust, particularly in relation to Web Assembly.
Despite JavaScript's stronghold in web development, many developers feel that the current state of JS/CSS/HTML could improve significantly. While popular frameworks and TypeScript adoption help address some limitations, Web Assembly enables programmers favoring type-safety to code in C++, C, or Rust for deployment on the web, serving both client and server needs. As applications demanding substantial computational power (like blockchain, gaming, and 3D modeling) transition to cloud-native, I echo Cheryl's prediction of growing Rust and Web Assembly utilization.
Cheryl also anticipates broader adoption of multi-cloud strategies. Major cloud providers have predominantly concentrated on hybrid-cloud deployments to expand their market reach (e.g., Google Cloud Anthos, Azure Arc, and AWS Outposts). However, as Kubernetes gains traction and cloud vendors introduce new products to ease data migration across platforms, more companies will likely adopt true multi-cloud setups for disaster recovery and enhanced flexibility in selecting specific offerings from different vendors (such as integrating Digital Twins from Azure, Google AI services, and AWS Lambda).
This video discusses predictions for cloud-native technologies and trends based on insights from the DEVOPS Conference.
Section 1.2: Insights on Kubernetes at the Edge
Finally, Cheryl expressed optimism about Kubernetes' implementation at the edge. She showcased a video featuring the U.S. Air Force utilizing Kubernetes and Istio on F-16 jets. From my experiences in IoT, I believe we are still some distance from widespread edge adoption of Kubernetes. While there are projects using k3s or custom bare-metal installations, the main hurdles lie not in computing capabilities but rather in delayed protocol rollouts (like 5G and LPWAN) and security issues.
Chapter 2: DevOps Trends
In this video, Cheryl shares her insights on the significant trends in DevOps and their implications for the cloud-native landscape.
Section 2.1: Key Developments in DevOps
Cheryl's next focus was on DevOps trends:
- Substantial growth in GitOps
- Expansion of Chaos Engineering practices
- Emergence of FinOps
These trends are not particularly surprising. Most CNCF projects in the CI/CD realm lean heavily towards GitOps (e.g., Argo, Tekton), and chaos engineering is becoming integral to reliability engineering teams. Cheryl highlighted an intriguing trend of new chaos engineering tools that integrate with service meshes. Previously, I discussed various chaos engineering tools such as Litmus and kube-monkey in “Technologies & Tools to Watch in 2021,” and I look forward to experimenting with Chaos Mesh in the near future.
Moreover, regarding FinOps, I predict it will become more entwined with development processes, similar to how security has evolved within DevOps as DevSecOps. Currently, cloud expenditures are often unclear, with FinOps primarily focusing on basic operations like setting thresholds, alerts, and dashboards. Many teams have experienced unexpected charges from cross-zone ingress/egress due to high-availability architecture or hefty bills from under-terminated load test jobs. In addition to Cheryl's forecast, I foresee FinOps evolving to generate anticipated cloud costs upfront while integrating with machine learning systems for intelligent alerts and mitigation.
Section 2.2: Ecosystem Dynamics
Cheryl wrapped up her presentation by discussing overarching ecosystem trends:
- Enhanced developer and operator experiences
- Consolidation of service meshes
- Open-source driven by end users
A standout tool mentioned was Backstage, an open platform from Spotify designed to create developer portals. Backstage is a flexible portal featuring pre-built widgets catering to common developer needs such as metrics, CI/CD status, alerts, cloud costs, and documentation. I am particularly eager to explore Backstage to unify our internal tools into one developer portal.
On service mesh consolidation, while Cheryl refrained from declaring Istio as the definitive leader, I believe its backing by industry giants like Google, Lyft, and RedHat positions it as a premier service mesh solution compatible with Kubernetes.
Conclusion
Last year, Microsoft’s CEO remarked that the world experienced “two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months” as a result of the pandemic forcing online transitions. The momentum in the cloud-native sector remains robust, as evidenced by Cheryl's predictions for increased adoption across various fronts.