Morpheus Data Extends Kubernetes Management Reach
Morpheus Data announced today it has added support for distributions of Kubernetes other than its own to version 4.2 of its hybrid cloud computing management platform.
In addition, the company is adding support for VMware Cloud Foundation, the framework in which VMware deploys an instance of Kubernetes that it curates on behalf of customers.
Morpheus Data is also making available its own instance of the Terraform configuration management tool alongside its own tools and other similar open source options in addition to providing a plug-in for the ServiceNow cloud service for managing IT.
Finally. Morpheus Data is unveiling a Tag Enforcement and Compliance Policy tool through which administrators can strictly enforce tag compliance across specific clouds, groups and users. Morpheus workflow automation can now also scan for non-compliance and apply missing tags to bring existing applications and infrastructure into compliance. Custom variables and option lists can be created and multiple tag policies can be combined to enforce compliance.
Brad Parks, vice president of marketing and business development for Morpheus Data, says the company is adding support for additional distributions of Kubernetes because the use of offerings from other companies such as Red Hat and VMware is increasing. Morpheus Data, in the case VMware, is looking to provide a lower-cost alternative to a rival IT automation framework. Unlike the VMware framework, the Morpheus Data platform can be employed to manage multiple virtual machine and bare-metal IT environments.
Morpheus Data is betting that the adoption of Kubernetes eventually will spur unification of what today are multiple cloud computing platforms that are managed largely in isolation. The challenge those organizations will face is finding a way to unify the management of IT platforms made up of a mix of legacy virtual machine-based infrastructure and emerging platforms based on Kubernetes.
It was assumed until recently that it might take several years for most IT teams to get around to unifying the management of the various cloud computing platforms they employ. However, in the wake of the economic strain being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic it seems likely there will be more focus on reducing the total cost of IT in the weeks and months ahead. The days when IT organizations could afford to allocate separate teams to master all the nuances of each cloud platform may be at an end.
Of course, it’s also unclear at what rate new applications will be built and deployed on Kubernetes. Undoubtedly, there will be a pause as organizations determine how much funding they may now want to allocate to such projects. However, longer-term it’s clear there will be increased reliance on digital business applications that lend themselves to providing an application experience that replaces the need for physical interactions.
Whatever the outcome, Parks notes the management of IT as it stands today is messy. The degree to which organizations can now absorb the cost of that mess is now very much in doubt.
