Original blog post published here
Cloud-native technologies enable enterprises to develop and run scalable applications in modern, dynamic environments such as public, private and hybrid clouds. Containers, service meshes, microservices, immutable infrastructure and declarative APIs are examples of this approach. The use of the hybrid architecture approach for implementing Java systems in the cloud has increased since last year, with 29% adoption reported in 2021 according to a developer survey report from Jakarta EE.
But organizations often face challenges to innovation in cloud native applications, including financial justification; the complexity of code and new architectures; lack of developers and skills to transform existing applications; and lack of clarity to start transforming applications.
The vFunction breakthrough
We are excited to introduce vFunction, a member of the HPE Pathfinder program, which identifies and invests in category-leading startup companies. vFunction is the first and only platform for developers and architects that intelligently and automatically transforms complex monolithic Java applications into microservices, restoring engineering velocity and optimizing the benefits of the cloud.
HPE Cloud Native Engineering and vFunction present a new approach to application re-factoring with cloud native engineering, using a 3-step approach: Assess monolithic apps; analyze and design microservices architecture; and, finally, break the monolith into microservices/miniservices. It offers a framework to reengineer existing applications using a phased approach:
Discovery of applications
Cloud native computing platform leveraging Kubernetes
Assessment and analysis of existing applications Modernization through service extraction to microservice architecture
New application development with DevSecOps ecosystem.
HPE Advisory and Professional Services provide the following seamless services through this cloud journey.
In the Discovery phase: HPE Right Mix Advisor service is a proven, data-driven approach to assess your portfolio and help prepare you for a successful hybrid cloud migration. Our approach accelerates the determination of the target endpoint and migration strategy for each of your applications using a combination of industry-standard tools and our own IP.
In the Assessment and analysis phase: Leveraging software-based analysis tools from HPE’s partner vFunction, HPE drives the assessment and analysis of codes used in the existing environments and identifies possible codes to be modernized and extracted with higher performance and security on containers and Kubernetes. It is currently offered for Java and will be offered for .NET by the end of 2022.
In the Modernize phase: HPE and vFunction identify exclusive services which can be extracted and configured before deploying to the target environment, leveraging code-copy functionalities to extract services from original source code and containerize/deploy by adding other external dependencies and build/test.
Finally, for onboarding on cloud native computing platforms, HPE provides a minimum viable cloud platform for developers to develop and operate a new and modernized application and its ecosystem, with an orchestrator (Kubernetes), observability, and DevSecOps ecosystem to run and operate new and modernized applications. Containerized services would be onboarded to the cloud native computing platform.