As today’s applications grow increasingly complex through the use of microservices architecture, integration of third-party services, and deployment in edge, cloud, hybrid, and multicloud environments, application resource management becomes a challenge all on its own. Orchestration tools like Edge Orchestrator can reduce these management complexities by automating processes and providing a single pane of glass to view and control resources.
This post will cover the complexity of applications today, the complexities of resource management, the consequences of those complexities, and how Azion’s Edge Orchestrator can simplify management so that companies can spend more time innovating and less time on operational tasks.
Complexity of modern applications
A variety of innovations have added complexity to modern applications, making them harder to manage than the traditional three-tiered monolithic applications deployed in private servers. Now, applications are deployed not only on-prem, but through edge, cloud, hybrid, and multicloud networks. The rise of microservice architecture and CI/CD has accelerated the delivery of new features and patches. Static content has been replaced by dynamic content highly personalized for each user, necessitating delivery from the edge. And the introduction of analytic solutions has enabled actionable metrics on how apps are meeting both technical and business goals, driving an even greater need for agile updates.
Factors complicating today’s applications include:
- edge, cloud, hybrid and multicloud deployments
- adoption of CI/CD
- personalized and dynamic content
- integration of third-party apps and services
- use of containers and serverless architecture
Each of these complexities multiplies the difficulty of managing applications, resulting in an endless cycle of deploying, debugging, and updating. In addition, each patch, feature, optimizations, and other update must be integrated with firewalls, digital certificates, and other resources.
Complexity of resource management
Flexera’s 2020 State of the Cloud Report found that 93% of all companies surveyed use multiple clouds, with organizations on average using over two public and two private clouds, as well as additional public and private clouds for experimentation. Although the wealth of options available allows for great flexibility in deploying workloads, it can make resource management a complex challenge. As noted by a recent Deloitte study on cloud complexity, “We have a tipping point when the number of clouds and cloud services becomes too much for our human brains to track.”
Adopting hybrid and multicloud, or shifting from on-prem to cloud involves added complications from multiplying attack vectors; an abundance of cloud offerings with different capabilities, configurations, and processes that are constantly changing; and orchestrating services from different vendors, each of which uses a different dashboard to observe and manage resources.
Some of the factors adding complexity to application and resource management include:
- visibility and orchestration siloed by cloud vendor
- the need to secure attack vectors across different deployments
- services, capabilities, and prices that change over time
- the lack of standardization across vendors
- the complexity of transitioning to cloud-native architecture
Addressing these complexities is not only difficult and time-consuming, but a high-stakes endeavor, with consequences for inadequate management ranging from spiraling expenses to compliance and security issues that stem from a lack of visibility.
Consequences of management complexities
One of the biggest struggles—and imperatives—of companies using cloud computing today is cost reduction. But despite intentions to reduce spending, a 2020 Deloitte article noted that many cloud resources go to waste due to poor visibility and inefficient management, such as orphaned resources or suboptimal use of reserved capacity.
Other consequences of management complexities include:
- Unplanned or unexpected costs
- Inefficient operational tasks, such as duplicating updates across platforms
- Compliance and security issues
- The need to hire new talent to work with various’ platforms configurations
Simplifying resource management with Edge Orchestrator
Edge Orchestrator is a new product from Azion that simplifies resource management by providing a single pane of glass to abstract away complexities. As noted by a recent article in TechBeacon, “public and private clouds all come with their own native APIs and resources,” with different ways of handling storage, networking, provisioning, and security. However, “the single pane of glass interface deals with the differences on your behalf, translating what’s important to those who manage the hybrid cloud in and between the different clouds that are under management.”
Ease of use is a key priority with Edge Orchestrator. It simplifies scalability with zero touch provisioning, making it easy to install edge applications and firewalls from Azion or third parties, via Azion Marketplace. It is compiled with all core and library dependencies to make software installation and updates easier. In addition to its simplicity, Edge Orchestrator ensures the security of our services, through end-to-end encryption and token-based security layers.
Edge Orchestrator is currently in beta release, and we are seeking customers to try out this product’s services. By doing so, customers can get a head start on orchestration while helping us to further develop the robust features planned for this product over the next year. To get started, visit our product page to contact sales or create a free account.
