Kubernetes where it helps, and an honest no where it does not
Kubernetes is excellent at running many services for many teams, deploying often and scaling automatically. It is also complex. We help you decide whether you need it, then build a platform your developers like using and your team can actually run and upgrade.
Why Kubernetes platforms disappoint
Clusters everywhere
Every team built its own cluster its own way. Nobody knows which ones are patched.
Upgrades nobody dares to do
Kubernetes releases about three versions a year. Clusters that fall behind lose support and become risky to upgrade.
Developers still wait for tickets
The platform exists, but getting an environment or a deployment still needs a request to the infrastructure team.
Security left at defaults
Containers run as root, any pod can talk to any other, and images are never scanned.
Do we really need Kubernetes?
Five questions, and an honest answer. Sometimes the right answer is virtual machines with good automation, or a managed container service.
What a platform includes beyond Kubernetes
| Layer | What it does | Common choices |
|---|---|---|
| Clusters | Run the containers | Managed (EKS, AKS, GKE, OKE) or self-run (RKE2, OpenShift, kubeadm) |
| Delivery | Get code from Git to production safely | CI pipelines, Argo CD or Flux |
| Images | Store, scan and sign container images | Harbor, Trivy, cosign |
| Networking | Route traffic in and between services | Ingress controllers, Gateway API, Cilium or Calico |
| Security | Limit what can run and what it can reach | RBAC, network policies, Kyverno or OPA Gatekeeper |
| Observability | Metrics, logs and traces | Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, OpenTelemetry |
| Developer experience | Self-service templates and docs | Backstage or a simple internal portal |
Guides and examples
Platform design
How a production platform is laid out, managed or self-run, and how to size it.
Read the guide →GitOps delivery
Deploy from Git, with an animated rolling update, server failure and drift fix.
Read the guide →Security
The controls that matter, and keeping clusters upgraded.
Read the guide →Multi-cluster and on-prem
When to run more than one cluster, and Kubernetes on OpenStack or bare metal.
Read the guide →Use case: festive-season scale
An illustrative retailer moving 30 services to Kubernetes before its biggest sale.
Read the use case →Kubernetes questions, answered
Managed or self-run, alternatives, cost, skills and more.
Read the FAQ →Related: APIs and microservices, private cloud on OpenStack. Full reference: Kubernetes whitepaper.
How a platform engagement runs
- Honest fit check. Applications, teams, release pace and skills. If Kubernetes is not the answer, we say so.
- Lean first platform. One or two clusters, GitOps delivery, basic security and monitoring. Nothing you will not use.
- First teams on board. Two or three friendly teams move real services and shape the templates.
- Harden. Policies, image scanning, backups and an upgrade routine.
- Scale out. More teams, self-service, and more clusters only where there is a reason.
- Hand over. Runbooks and upgrade practice with your platform team.
Planning a Kubernetes platform, or fixing one?
Tell us how many applications and teams you have, how you deploy today and where it should run. We will come back with an honest view: whether Kubernetes fits, what a lean platform looks like, and what it takes to run.