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Cloud is new. Obviously, cloud is new, it’s the current substrate standard upon which most of the planet is now working to align its IT stacks and it underpins the lion’s/lioness’s share of the way we compute at an enterprise and consumer level.
But as new as cloud is, there are enough legacy first-stage technologies (perhaps dating back to the turn of the millennium) that have by now enjoyed what is already a sustained period of deployment.
As such, we now move to so-called ‘modern cloud’, a state of being where we can tap into new optimizations and automations being brought to market by the major hyperscalers (AWS, Google Cloud Platform & Microsoft Azure, obviously) and the contenders edging for a space at the group-of-three’s big table.
This is where IT infrastructure services provider Kyndryl aims to operate. The company has now launched new cloud native services to help customers accelerate their cloud application modernization journey at scale.
Kyndryl Cloud Native Services was developed to enable customers to migrate, modernize and optimize critical workloads on hybrid and multi-cloud environments by utilizing its carefully architected (Kyndryl’s marketingspeak calls it well-architected) framework in conjunction with each of its hyperscaler partnerships.
Looking at the shape of what we might call cloud 1.0 deployments and thinking about how we move to through adolescence to a more mature era of cloud, Kyndryl suggests that many complexities and IT silos have shaped our first years' usage of these technologies. If there is now a reasonable notion of mature cloud (a term we have deliberately used to avoid saying ‘digital transformation’), this state of operations is also challenged by the undeniable shortage of critical in-house IT skills, which has slowed progress for many businesses.
What cloud modernization contains
Kyndryl explains that its focus is aligned on streamlining cloud application modernization efforts by providing a framework of software code assets, workflows, practical cloud deployment expertise and a set of services to provide what it calls ‘end-to-end lifecycle’ support - a selection of offerings spanning from consulting through to management with integrated services around automated backup, patching, KPI (key performance indicator) monitoring, security, alerting and incident management.
These (above) services are aligned with the cloud adoption frameworks of Kyndryl’s hyperscaler partners, which is a three-for-three trifecta group of all the major players, according to a report this year on The Register. Kyndryl also says it provides skilled resources through cloud experts who can help customers fast-track their cloud adoption.
“We’ve seen companies increase their use of cloud over the last few years, but [so many] have experienced barriers to adoption – whether it’s through the complexities of hybrid, multi-cloud landscapes, or lack of skills and expertise to manage their IT estates,” said Harish Grama, Kyndryl cloud global practice leader.
By co-creating with customers through the cloud native operating model, Grama says that Kyndryl’s approach provides a faster route to successful cloud deployment and operation by enabling a more enhanced level of developer productivity.
Wider cloud modernization elements
“It also provides a simplified procurement process, consistent delivery across clouds, more cost-effective cloud migration and modernization and the integration of other technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). In addition, the services offer more efficiency and agility with quicker cloud deployments, reducing time for developer set-up, easier management and more resilient applications,” notes Grama and team.
As a whole, Kyndryl is focused on transforming customer cloud operations by using Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and Policy-as-Code (PoC) - both terms we have defined and explained in stories shown linked here in this paragraph - for secure-by-design delivery principles that allow customers to take an automation-first approach, which accelerates cloud adoption and optimises cloud spend.
This story is far from over i.e. cloud modernization has many levels, but it’s interesting to see Kyndryl move from talking about providing code, workflows and templates at one level, to then add to that with procurement help (well, an organization might very well need to know how to buy cloud services contracts more efficiently and cost-effectively, right?) and onwards to AI and then the whole Everything-As-Code concept that is shaping the current cutting edge of cloud development.
Just think, in a couple of decades from now (or sooner) all this stuff could be out of date.
Brace yourself for cloud 3.0 or higher.
