What is a 'cloud-native' application?

A 'cloud-native' application is built specifically to leverage the advantages of a cloud environment. This design approach embraces the cloud's scalability, flexibility, and resilience, allowing these applications to efficiently utilize cloud resources such as elastic computing, storage, and networking.

Cloud-native applications are typically developed using microservices architecture, which means they are composed of small, independently deployable services that communicate through APIs. This architecture enhances agility, enabling rapid development and iteration, as well as facilitating continuous integration and deployment practices.

In contrast, applications designed for on-premises deployment or traditional desktop applications do not take full advantage of cloud capabilities. They may be limited to specific hardware configurations and environments and often lack the scalability and resilience that cloud-native applications provide. Furthermore, applications that only run on private servers miss out on the benefits of public cloud infrastructure, such as ease of access, global reach, and dynamic resource allocation.

Thus, being built specifically for cloud environments is what fundamentally distinguishes cloud-native applications from others, positioning them to thrive in today's digital landscape.