What are cloud-native applications?

Cloud-native applications are designed specifically to leverage the scalable, flexible, and resilient infrastructure provided by cloud computing platforms. Unlike traditional applications, which are often developed to run on specific servers or in dedicated data center environments, cloud-native applications embrace the dynamic nature of cloud computing. They are built and deployed in a way that takes full advantage of the cloud environment’s strengths, such as its ability to scale resources up or down as needed, its resilience and redundancy features, and its wide array of services that can be integrated seamlessly into applications.

The key characteristics and practices associated with cloud-native applications include:

1. Microservices Architecture: Cloud-native applications often use a microservices architecture, where the application is divided into small, independent services that communicate over well-defined APIs. This structure enables easier scaling, maintenance, and updates.

2. Containers and Orchestration: Containers package applications and their dependencies together into a single unit, which can run consistently on any computing environment. Orchestration tools like Kubernetes manage these containers, automating deployment, scaling, and management tasks, which is ideal for cloud environments.

3. DevOps and Continuous Delivery: Cloud-native development typically involves DevOps principles and practices, such as continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD), which streamline and automate the development, testing, and deployment processes. This approach allows for faster release cycles and more reliable software.

4. Scalability: Cloud-native applications are designed to scale out (horizontal scaling) automatically in response to