Kubernetes provides a powerful platform for innovation, enabling teams to evaluate and trial new ideas and technologies, iterate quickly, and collaborate with a broad community. By reducing the overhead associated with application deployment and management, Kubernetes can help organizations to focus more on innovation and less on infrastructure.
However, while it’s easy to see the potential for modernization with Kubernetes, it’s better to see actual examples of Kubernetes at work in real-world scenarios. A March 2023 Vision Report from Forrester, “Kubernetes: Your Innovation Platform,” provides seven tangible examples of organizations using Kubernetes to develop innovative solutions that address and solve specific industry use cases.
Below Is Our Summary of Those Successful Implementations:
Redfin Handles Spike in Homebuying Demand
An online resource for homebuyers and sellers, Redfin’s SaaS offering runs on Kubernetes. Using K8s, they can deploy applications in minutes, instead of days or weeks, which frees up developers to implement their innovative ideas. During the pandemic, users benefitted from virtual home tours, payment calculators, and other mobile and web applications, as well as AI-powered insights into real estate trends.
HCA Healthcare Saves Lives
HCA Healthcare used machine learning on Red Hat OpenShift to build an application for reducing the time it takes to diagnose sepsis, a life-threatening condition. The application, called SPOT (Sepsis Prediction and Optimization of Therapy), detects the potential for sepsis and alerts medical staff to screen for it. This innovative app was developed using Kubernetes.
Kroger Flexes DevOps Muscles
Digital transformation was essential for Kroger to maintain a competitive advantage in 2017, and the company needed a product search app to help customers access data on Azure and Google Cloud. Using Kubernetes’ multicloud capabilities, they were able to meet the technical requirements and organizational objectives of the project and “build up their DevOps muscle.”
Audi Creates Standards for Innovation
Audi, one of the most innovative automakers, uses Red Hat OpenShift on AWS and Azure for its cloud-agnostic Kubernetes environment, Kubika-O. They use it to build an application for optimizing fleet emissions, running OpenShift on-premises and migrating workloads seamlessly, when needed. The set up liberates developers with support for the wider Volkswagen group and its CARIAD software subsidiary that’s focused solely on creating innovative automotive products.
CERN Laboratories Processes Petabytes
For CERN, Kubernetes is the powerhouse behind its cutting-edge research efforts, helping to process petabytes of data generated during subatomic particle research. The platform helps to manage workloads between storage and the cloud, while reducing storage management efforts. Using the K8s REANA/RECAST project, CERN’s scientists can implement advanced analytics algorithms as fully containerized workflows.
Shipt Reduces Downtime Risk
Target’s same-day delivery service, Shipt, used Kubernetes to develop a distributed payment system for multi-regional use, reducing the risk of downtime. Leveraging CockroachCloud, the company now benefits from automated replication and high performance across regions.
SAS Launches Viya Analytics
SAS transformed its AI-powered analytics offerings launching Viya analytics on Kubernetes platforms from AWS, Azure, and Google. High-profile customers including the National Bank of Greece (NBG) use the solution as its primary analytics platform.
More Innovation Awaits
Interested in learning how Kubernetes can support innovation in your organization? Access the Forrester Vision Report here.
