Recently, the tech giant has been focusing on open-source projects that will act as a catalyst for businesses all over the world to embrace cloud computing. The company has also launched Dapr – the platform for building microservices, KEDA – the autoscaling even-driven solution, and Copacetic – the tool for resolving container image vulnerability, apart from Radius. All of these can be accessed via the Cloud Native Compute Foundation (CNCF) on GitHub.
This announcement has come at a time when companies have been facing increasingly complex challenges in deploying and managing applications across multiple clouds and private infrastructure. While modern applications like Kubernetes have played a vital role in simplifying applications management, it also has some glaring gaps like complexity and the merging of infrastructure and application concepts. Microsoft’s Radius is the solution to these challenges which provides developers with an extensive set of tools, including API front ends, key-value stores, and observability systems.
Azure CTO Mark Russinovich said “One of the things that we’re doing that is different is that we want Radius to support all types of applications, and not just be vertically opinionated about an architecture of an application or only support a certain pattern of applications — like 12-factor — or require that apps themselves are written a certain way. Radius itself is unopinionated about the way the app is written and it’s flexible enough to support your two-tier and three-tier applications, which there are a ton of them still being built in the enterprise. They’re containerized now but they’re still that architecture. And it’s also able to support complex microservice-based applications with a dozen or two dozen microservices.”
What makes Radius so interesting is that it provides a holistic view of the application. It allows the developers to gain a deeper understanding of their applications by connecting components and managing intricate permissions and connection strings. The platform’s application graph features provide a comprehensive view of how applications and their underlying infrastructure are interconnected.
Moreover, Radius caters to the diverse needs of enterprises operating across multiple cloud environments. Designed to be open-source and multi-cloud compatible, Radius supports not only Microsoft Azure but also other major cloud platforms, empowering businesses to leverage the benefits of a seamless and unified application management experience, irrespective of their preferred cloud provider. It will also provide pre-definable templates that automate the delivery of infrastructure resources and environment configurations that adhere to cost, security, and compliance standards.
Furthermore, the synergy between Radius and Microsoft’s Azure Incubations Team’s Distributed Application Runtime (Dapr) amplifies the platform’s capabilities. By simplifying Dapr configuration and enabling portability and abstraction, Radius and Dapr collectively pave the way for portable applications, redefining the boundaries of what’s achievable in the realm of cloud-native development.
With Radius, Microsoft showcases its drive to empower developers and businesses with tools that’ll help them navigate the ever evolving and complex technological landscape.
