Why Kubernetes is the Power Behind Modern Financial Services

Kubernetes is Greek for ‘helmsman’… your guide through unknown waters.

Since its introduction in 2014, Kubernetes has become the standard API for building cloud-native applications.It’s a proven infrastructure for distributed systems to build and deploy reliable, and scalable distributed systems.

Kubernetes provides businesses with the tools they need to move quickly while remaining available.

It does this through:

• Immutability: Kubernetes prioritizes immutability, meaning that once an object (e.g., a pod, deployment or service) is created, its desired state is defined and then remains constant.
• Declarative configuration: Kubernetes uses a declarative approach to configuration, one where you describe the desired state of your application and then Kubernetes automatically ensures that the actual state matches the desired one.
• Online self-healing systems: Kubernetes has built-in mechanisms to automatically detect and recover from failures, ensuring that applications remain available and resilient.
• Shared reusable libraries and tools: Kubernetes provides a rich ecosystem of shared libraries and tools that can be used to simplify common tasks and accelerate development.

Faster deployment and greater reliability

These ideas all interrelate to radically improve the speed with which firms can reliably deploy new software – and this is a game-changer for financial services. Like a lot of highly regulated industries, banking customers demand seamless, secure and personalised changes across multiple digital channels, whilst also expecting resilience and 24/7 availability.

Kubernetes automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerised applications, leading to a number of significant benefits for financial institutions:

• Increased agility and scalability: When banks experience peak loads and fluctuations in demand, Kubernetes allows for elastic scaling, automatically provisioning resources as required. This ensures smooth operation during periods of high-traffic – such as trade settlements or tax season.
• Enhanced developer productivity: Breaking down monolithic applications into microservices with Kubernetes streamlines development. This means development teams can work independently and deploy features faster, as well as iterating more quickly.
• Improved use of resources: Traditional deployments often result in unused server capacity. Containerisation with Kubernetes packs applications more efficiently, leading to measurable cost savings.
• Robust security and compliance: Financial data needs to be subject to the highest levels of security. Kubernetes offers features like ‘role-based access control’ and ‘secrets management’ to safeguard sensitive information.

Banks are using Kubernetes in a variety of ways

For example, a leading US bank currently uses Kubernetes to power its core banking applications. As a result, they’ve witnessed a significant increase in developer productivity and reduced time-to-market for new features. Additionally, Kubernetes has helped them optimise resource utilisation, leading to substantial cost savings.

Meanwhile, an Indian bank has been using Kubernetes containerization to enable them to efficiently handle vast amounts of data and computations – ensuring smooth functioning of the Indian financial ecosystem.

Other key use cases of Kubernetes include:

Fraud detection and risk management: Kubernetes facilitates the deployment of microservices for fraud detection, enabling faster analysis and threat mitigation.

Personalized customer experiences: Financial institutions can leverage Kubernetes to deliver customized experiences through mobile and online banking platforms, whereby containerized microservices can be deployed to cater to individual customer needs and preferences.

Regulatory compliance: Kubernetes can be used to manage compliance workflows and ensure applications adhere to industry standards.

Kubernetes is strategically imperative

Kubernetes is no longer a "nice to have" for financial institutions – it's strategically necessary. By embracing containerisation and orchestration with Kubernetes, financial services firms can achieve the customer and regulatory requirements needed to thrive in the digital age. This means that, as the industry continues to evolve, Kubernetes will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of finance.