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Data protection for Kubernetes applications at a cost that’s 3 times lower

If you’ve been watching this space—and other spaces like blogs from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, Spot by NetApp®, and The New Stack—you know that Kubernetes is the ever-evolving and most popular platform for building new applications for multicloud deployments. Businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, are looking to build new or better digital products and services. They embrace Kubernetes to realize those projects faster, reach new customers more quickly, and attain their revenue goals more swiftly. Scale and speed are the key drivers for Kubernetes adoption when businesses are building new applications and modernizing existing ones.

However, what happens to data protection and data management requirements in this new world? Especially in the enterprise? Although the answer might be that somebody else is now expected to deliver on those requirements, the requirements don’t fade away—regardless of the application platform or the cloud that the application runs on. In fact, the implementation is often more complex due to the scale of applications and an application’s persistent data now existing in multiple clouds, like on-premises, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Choices in method, architecture, and software components play into the considerations. For your applications that are running in a data fabric powered by NetApp, NetApp Astra™ Control can help with protecting and moving application data.

To get a better sense of how Astra Control helps streamline data protection for Kubernetes, we asked Evaluator Group to take a closer look at the typical data protection workflows and the cost savings involved with these tasks. In their report “Cloud Native Data Protection: NetApp Astra Control vs. Alternatives,” they found that Astra Control particularly shines in the following areas:

  • Less hassle through a single, centralized data protection and management point for multiple Kubernetes clusters
  • Better restore points for your applications through application-consistent NetApp Snapshot™copies of your application’s data
  • Less toil through automation using the API – in addition to an easy-to-use web UI
  • Automatic discovery of new and unprotected applications—so you never miss a new application or application changes
  • Enterprise-level support and validation for the leading Kubernetes distributions

All in all, these benefits amounted to substantially lower cost for data protection scenarios. According to the report, Evaluator Group “found Astra Control provides significant cost savings compared to using open-source tools, with typical savings ranging from 2X up to 3X. This is due to the ability to manage data protection far more efficiently, reducing IT administrative time and thereby lowering total costs.”

The Evaluator Group report provides many more insights and supplies perspective on additional considerations. For example, the report notes that “with limited availability, the expense of [DevOps engineering] can be significantly greater than traditional IT administrators. Moreover, empowering IT staff to leverage their skills in order to protect new container-based applications and services can benefit many organizations.”

To learn more, read the full report from Evaluator Group.

Senior Product Manager