In the framework of the .NEXT conference, Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in multicloud hybrid computing, presented today the Nutanix Platform Kubernetes (NKP) designed to simplify the management of modern container-based applications using Kubernetes. NKP allows customers to innovate more quickly with a complete cloud-native stack and CNCF-compliant, providing platform engineering teams with a consistent operational model to securely manage Kubernetes clusters in on-premises, hybrid, and multicloud environments.
“Companies have standardized on Kubernetes to accelerate application development and simplify portability across hybrid cloud. However, the DevOps culture has led to the adoption of disparate Kubernetes environments within the same organization, resulting in operational complexity and silos,” said Simon Robinson, Principal Analyst of Infrastructure at Enterprise Strategy Group. “Nutanix’s Kubernetes Platform offers a path to consistency in a fleet of Kubernetes clusters, which can drastically reduce operational costs and accelerate time to market.”
NKP is aimed at a new type of Kubernetes platform engineering teams to bring enterprise resilience, day 2 operations, and compliance to modern applications at scale. For example, customers can manage clusters running containers in Nutanix on-premises environments and public cloud with a single interface, reducing complexity and operational costs. It also allows organizations to manage clusters in non-Nutanix environments, including popular Kubernetes services in public cloud as well as connected and disconnected environments. This helps customers innovate faster by removing obstacles in the adoption of cloud-native architectures for their applications.
“One of the biggest challenges organizations face with cloud-native applications is the deployment, security, and management of expanding Kubernetes cluster fleets both on-premises and in public clouds, and NKP simplifies this,” commented Tobi Knaup, GM Cloud Native at Nutanix. “This work directly supports our vision, along with Project Beacon, to enable customers to run modern applications and their data anywhere.”
NKP helps companies manage the operational complexity of running enterprise-level Kubernetes deployments. Specifically, it offers:
– Kubernetes Platform for Data-Driven Applications: NKP integrates with Nutanix’s leading data services portfolio, providing reliable block, file, and object storage, as well as databases as a service.
– Simplified Kubernetes Management through Automation: NKP simplifies deployment, security, monitoring, and updates of Kubernetes through cutting-edge automation and AI-driven operational insights that reduce complexity and human errors, establishing consistency and standardization.
– Complete Vendor-Agnostic Platform: NKP is built on pure Kubernetes and CNCF-compliant, allowing customers to enjoy innovation from the open-source community while avoiding portability, compatibility, update, and security issues associated with forked Kubernetes versions and single-vendor solutions.
– Multi-Cluster Fleet Management: NKP facilitates Kubernetes cluster management through a centralized management plane, an easy-to-use dashboard that serves as a single point of observation and control for clusters in on-premises, public cloud, edge, and disconnected environments. NKP extends Kubernetes services in public cloud like EKS and AKS with a full suite of platform services, providing customers with a standardized way to manage their entire Kubernetes fleet.
NKP comes in three tiers, offering customers what they need based on their stage of maturity in cloud-native adoption. NKP Starter is included in Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure and replaces the Nutanix Kubernetes Engine, providing turnkey clusters with pure upstream Kubernetes. NKP Pro adds a suite of cloud-native projects to provide a complete platform for operating and managing individual clusters securely, including Nutanix data services for Kubernetes when deployed in Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure. Finally, NKP Ultimate offers fleet management capabilities, including the installation, operation, and monitoring of clusters in public cloud.
This solution also builds on the work Nutanix will deliver as part of Project Beacon to help customers deploy more cloud-native and containerized applications that can run anywhere. Organizations will be able to use NKP to manage Kubernetes applications and their data, as well as modern data services available natively in public clouds, on-premises, at the edge, and on other hypervisors.