When utilising modern cloud technologies, a bespoke platform strategy is essential for the efficient and consistent development of software. To shed light on the benefits and challenges behind such strategies, we speak to Alexandra Brandl, Senior DevOps Engineer at iteratec, who led the development of such a platform.
Alexandra, the core of a cloud landscape is often implemented using Kubernetes. Many developers want to use it without having to delve into the intricacies of administration. How can a platform help?
Developers want to focus on what matters most: the development itself. Our development environments are becoming increasingly complex, and maintaining code quality requires a wide range of tools. This is precisely where a platform takes the strain off. Developers can concentrate on the application itself. As DevOps engineers, we take care of administration and maintenance, fix bugs and provide the development teams with everything they need via a single platform. It’s a simple way to use a toolset without having to manage it yourself.
How does a platform address developers’ concerns about security vulnerabilities or integration into the customer’s network?
When it comes to security, there are no compromises. We always ensure that our platforms comply with the latest security standards. Nevertheless, a company’s specific security stack can pose a challenge when integrating a platform. Here, it is essential to focus on the essentials to enable the best possible working experience in and with the cloud.
Scalability is crucial for modern applications. How does the platform support developers without them having to intervene manually in the scaling process?
We automate the process as much as possible. The developers decide when and how the application should scale, and as a DevOps Engineer, I configure the appropriate autoscalers within the platform so that applications scale automatically when the load increases, without any further intervention.
Operators in Kubernetes are powerful tools and represent a functional extension of the platform. How do you coordinate their integration and maintenance, which requires a fair amount of specialist knowledge?
We always develop our platforms in such a way that we tailor them to the needs of the developers. If, for example, they need a simple way to deploy their applications into the environment, a bespoke operator relieves them of the administrative burden. They then only need to configure what is necessary for their own use. We take care of maintenance and ensuring seamless integration with the rest of the platform.
What advantages do you see in developing your own platform rather than relying on cloud services, particularly in terms of best practices, cost-efficiency and development dynamics?
Developing your own platform offers the particular advantage of always being up to date, which naturally also enhances security. I remain significantly more independent and, by applying best practices, can react much more flexibly to price changes, capacity requirements and other needs.
Thank you, Alexandra.
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