Changes

   <p>A strategic approach to Kubernetes investments will need to be developed to ensure opportunities are properly leveraged. The GC invests a significant portion of its annual budget on IT and supporting infrastructure. Without strategic Kubernetes direction the fragmented approaches to IT investments, coupled with rapid developing technology and disjointed business practices, can undermine effective and efficient delivery of GC programs and services<ref>Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. December 3, 2018. Directive on Management of Information Technology. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Government of Canada. Retrieved 27-Dec-2018 from: <i>[https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=15249 ]</i></ref>.  A clear vision and mandate for how Kubernetes will transform services, and what the end-state Kubernetes initiative is supposed to look like, is a prominent consideration. </p>

   <p>A strategic approach to Kubernetes investments will need to be developed to ensure opportunities are properly leveraged. The GC invests a significant portion of its annual budget on IT and supporting infrastructure. Without strategic Kubernetes direction the fragmented approaches to IT investments, coupled with rapid developing technology and disjointed business practices, can undermine effective and efficient delivery of GC programs and services<ref>Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. December 3, 2018. Directive on Management of Information Technology. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Government of Canada. Retrieved 27-Dec-2018 from: <i>[https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=15249 ]</i></ref>.  A clear vision and mandate for how Kubernetes will transform services, and what the end-state Kubernetes initiative is supposed to look like, is a prominent consideration. </p>

   <p>SSC should consider defining a network strategy for Kubernetes adoption. Multiple factors should be taken into account, including the amount of resources, funding, and expertise that will be required for the development and experimentation with Kubernetes technologies. Calculation of resource requirements including CPU, memory, storage, etc. at the start of Kubernetes projects is imperative. Considerations include whether or not an in-house Kubernetes solution is required or if a solution can be procured. Other strategy considerations include analyzing different orchestration approaches for different application use cases.</p>

   <p>SSC should consider defining a network strategy for Kubernetes adoption. Multiple factors should be taken into account, including the amount of resources, funding, and expertise that will be required for the development and experimentation with Kubernetes technologies. Calculation of resource requirements including CPU, memory, storage, etc. at the start of Kubernetes projects is imperative. Considerations include whether or not an in-house Kubernetes solution is required or if a solution can be procured. Other strategy considerations include analyzing different orchestration approaches for different application use cases.</p>

   <b><u>Complexity and Skills Gap</u></b>

   <p><b><u>Complexity and Skills Gap</u></b></p>

   <p>Kubernetes is a good technology and the de facto standard for orchestrating containers, and containers are the future of modern software delivery. But it is notoriously complex to manage for enterprise workloads, where Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are critical. The operational pain of managing production-grade Kubernetes is further complicated by the industry-wide talent scarcity and skills gap. Most organizations today struggle to hire Kubernetes experts, and even these “experts” lack advanced Kubernetes experience to ensure smooth operations at scale. SSC will need to be cautious in implementing Kubernetes and having the right staff experienced and comfortable in its use.</p>

   <p>Kubernetes is a good technology and the de facto standard for orchestrating containers, and containers are the future of modern software delivery. But it is notoriously complex to manage for enterprise workloads, where Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are critical. The operational pain of managing production-grade Kubernetes is further complicated by the industry-wide talent scarcity and skills gap. Most organizations today struggle to hire Kubernetes experts, and even these “experts” lack advanced Kubernetes experience to ensure smooth operations at scale. SSC will need to be cautious in implementing Kubernetes and having the right staff experienced and comfortable in its use.</p>

   <b><u>Customization and Integration Still Required</u></b>

   <p><b><u>Customization and Integration Still Required</u></b></p>

   <p>Kubernetes technology and ecosystem are evolving rapidly, because of its relatively new state, it is hard to find packaged solutions with complete out-of-the-box support for complex, large-scale enterprise scenarios. As a large and sophisticated enterprise organization, SSC will need to devote significant resources on customization and training. Enterprise Architecture pros will need to focus on the whole architecture of cloud-native applications as well as keep a close watch on technology evolution and industry. </p>

   <p>Kubernetes technology and ecosystem are evolving rapidly, because of its relatively new state, it is hard to find packaged solutions with complete out-of-the-box support for complex, large-scale enterprise scenarios. As a large and sophisticated enterprise organization, SSC will need to devote significant resources on customization and training. Enterprise Architecture pros will need to focus on the whole architecture of cloud-native applications as well as keep a close watch on technology evolution and industry. </p>

   <p>Implementation usually takes longer than expected, however the consensus in the New Stack’s Kubernetes User Experience Survey is that Kubernetes reduces code deployment times, and increases the frequency of those deployments<ref>Williams, Alex, et al. The State of the Kubernetes Ecosystem. The New Stack. thenewstack.io. Retrieved 15-May-2019 from: <i>[https://thenewstack.io/ebooks/kubernetes/state-of-kubernetes-ecosystem/ ]</i></ref>.  However, in the short run, the implementation phase does consume more human resources. Additionally, implementation takes longer than expected. The consensus is that Kubernetes reduces code deployment times, and increases the frequency of those deployments. However, in the short run, the implementation phase does consume more human resources.</p>

   <p>Implementation usually takes longer than expected, however the consensus in the New Stack’s Kubernetes User Experience Survey is that Kubernetes reduces code deployment times, and increases the frequency of those deployments<ref>Williams, Alex, et al. The State of the Kubernetes Ecosystem. The New Stack. thenewstack.io. Retrieved 15-May-2019 from: <i>[https://thenewstack.io/ebooks/kubernetes/state-of-kubernetes-ecosystem/ ]</i></ref>.  However, in the short run, the implementation phase does consume more human resources. Additionally, implementation takes longer than expected. The consensus is that Kubernetes reduces code deployment times, and increases the frequency of those deployments. However, in the short run, the implementation phase does consume more human resources.</p>

   <b><u>Pilot Small and Scale Success</u></b>

   <p><b><u>Pilot Small and Scale Success</u></b></p>

   <p>SSC may wish to consider evaluating the current Service Catalogue in order to determine where Kubernetes can be leveraged first to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and reduce administrative burdens of existing services as well as how a new Kubernetes service could be delivered on a consistent basis. Any new procurements of devices or platforms should have high market value and can be on-boarded easily onto the GC network. SSC should avoid applying in-house Kubernetes for production mission-critical apps. Failure of in-house deployments is high and thus should be avoided. SSC should pilot and establish a Kubernetes test cluster. With all new cloud-based technologies, piloting is preferred. Focus should first be on a narrow set of objectives and a single application scenario to stand up a test cluster.</p>

   <p>SSC may wish to consider evaluating the current Service Catalogue in order to determine where Kubernetes can be leveraged first to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and reduce administrative burdens of existing services as well as how a new Kubernetes service could be delivered on a consistent basis. Any new procurements of devices or platforms should have high market value and can be on-boarded easily onto the GC network. SSC should avoid applying in-house Kubernetes for production mission-critical apps. Failure of in-house deployments is high and thus should be avoided. SSC should pilot and establish a Kubernetes test cluster. With all new cloud-based technologies, piloting is preferred. Focus should first be on a narrow set of objectives and a single application scenario to stand up a test cluster.</p>

   <b><u>Implement Robust Monitoring, Logging, and Audit Practices and Tools</u></b>

   <p><b><u>Implement Robust Monitoring, Logging, and Audit Practices and Tools</u></b></p>

   <p>Monitoring provides visibility and detailed metrics of Kubernetes infrastructure. This includes granular metrics on usage and performance across all cloud providers or private data centers, regions, servers, networks, storage, and individual VMs or containers. Improving data center efficiency and utilization on both on-premises and public cloud resources is the goal. Additionally, logging is a complementary function and required capability for effective monitoring is also a goal. Logging ensures that logs at every layer of the architecture are all captured for analysis, troubleshooting and diagnosis. Centralized, distributed, log management and visualization is a key capability<ref>Chemitiganti, Vamsi, and Fray, Peter. (February 20th, 2019). 7 Key Considerations for Kubernetes in Production. The  New Stack. 2019. Retrieved 16-May-2019 from: <i>[https://thenewstack.io/7-key-considerations-for-kubernetes-in-production/]</i></ref>.  Lastly, routine auditing, no matter the checks and balances put in place, will cover topics that normal monitoring will not cover. Traditionally, auditing is as a manual process, but the automated tooling in the Kubernetes space is quickly improving.</p>

   <p>Monitoring provides visibility and detailed metrics of Kubernetes infrastructure. This includes granular metrics on usage and performance across all cloud providers or private data centers, regions, servers, networks, storage, and individual VMs or containers. Improving data center efficiency and utilization on both on-premises and public cloud resources is the goal. Additionally, logging is a complementary function and required capability for effective monitoring is also a goal. Logging ensures that logs at every layer of the architecture are all captured for analysis, troubleshooting and diagnosis. Centralized, distributed, log management and visualization is a key capability<ref>Chemitiganti, Vamsi, and Fray, Peter. (February 20th, 2019). 7 Key Considerations for Kubernetes in Production. The  New Stack. 2019. Retrieved 16-May-2019 from: <i>[https://thenewstack.io/7-key-considerations-for-kubernetes-in-production/]</i></ref>.  Lastly, routine auditing, no matter the checks and balances put in place, will cover topics that normal monitoring will not cover. Traditionally, auditing is as a manual process, but the automated tooling in the Kubernetes space is quickly improving.</p>

   <b><u>Security</u></b>

   <p><b><u>Security</u></b></p>

   <p>Security is a critical part of cloud native applications and Kubernetes is no exception. Security is a constant throughout the container lifecycle and it is required throughout the design, development, DevOps, and infrastructure choices for container-based applications. A range of technology choices are available to cover various areas such as application-level security and the security of the container and infrastructure itself. Different tools that provide certification and security for what goes inside the container itself (such as image registry, image signing, packaging), Common Vulnerability Exposures/Enumeration (CVE) scans, and more<ref>Chemitiganti, Vamsi, and Fray, Peter. (February 20th, 2019). 7 Key Considerations for Kubernetes in Production. The  New Stack. 2019. Retrieved 16-May-2019 from: <i>[https://thenewstack.io/7-key-considerations-for-kubernetes-in-production/]</i></ref>..  SSC will need to ensure appropriate security measures are used with any new Kubernetes initiatives, including the contents of the containers being orchestrated.</p>

   <p>Security is a critical part of cloud native applications and Kubernetes is no exception. Security is a constant throughout the container lifecycle and it is required throughout the design, development, DevOps, and infrastructure choices for container-based applications. A range of technology choices are available to cover various areas such as application-level security and the security of the container and infrastructure itself. Different tools that provide certification and security for what goes inside the container itself (such as image registry, image signing, packaging), Common Vulnerability Exposures/Enumeration (CVE) scans, and more<ref>Chemitiganti, Vamsi, and Fray, Peter. (February 20th, 2019). 7 Key Considerations for Kubernetes in Production. The  New Stack. 2019. Retrieved 16-May-2019 from: <i>[https://thenewstack.io/7-key-considerations-for-kubernetes-in-production/]</i></ref>..  SSC will need to ensure appropriate security measures are used with any new Kubernetes initiatives, including the contents of the containers being orchestrated.</p>