Cloud Native Application Design
Cloud-Native Design
A new way of shaping applications to get the most out of cloud services — trading one big program for many small, loosely coupled ones. Toggle below to see the shift.
One structured program
Closely tied to its OS and infrastructure. Released in major versions with sweeping changes to requirements and dependencies — hard to touch without touching everything.
Cloud-Native Design Concepts
Cloud delivery models differ fundamentally from traditional application platforms — so the way applications are designed for them has to change too. Traditional applications are structured, monolithic programs closely tied to their operating system and supporting infrastructure, making them difficult to evolve.
- Difficult to scale
- Difficult to adapt to various platforms
- Difficult to update or modify
- Steep end-user learning curves associated with new versions
Advantages & Disadvantages
Rather than one single unit, cloud-native design calls for loosely coupled components deployed in smaller pieces — improving speed, flexibility, and scalability. It leans fully into cloud service delivery models. But that flexibility isn't free.
What cloud-native relies on
Cloud-native design leans on a handful of related technologies. Tap each one for a quick definition.
Cloud-native vs. cloud-first
Cloud-native
A design and architecture approach: build applications as loosely coupled components made to run on cloud platforms.
Cloud-first
A business decision: assume any new software will be cloud-native by default. Traditional monolithic apps only get built or chosen when going cloud-native isn't possible.