Glossary · Automation software engineering and architecture
Cloud-native application
Also known as: Cloud-native software
German: Cloudnative Anwendung
In software engineering, a cloud-native application is an application designed to run in dynamic, elastic environments such as public, private or edge clouds, typically built from loosely coupled services packaged in containers, managed by orchestration and delivered through automated pipelines.
- Software engineering
In one sentence
A cloud-native application is built from loosely coupled, containerized services designed for elastic environments and automated delivery.
Example
A plant's quality analytics application runs as several containerized services on a Kubernetes cluster, scaling up automatically during end-of-shift report generation.
How it applies
- Engineering: Cloud-native design favors stateless services, externalized configuration, health endpoints, horizontal scaling and automated deployment. These principles increasingly apply to edge platforms on the shop floor as well.
- Operation: Cloud-native applications change often and run on shared infrastructure. OT operators need clear rules on which functions may depend on cloud or network availability and what happens when connectivity is lost.
- Documentation: Document the service architecture, dependencies, configuration parameters, data flows and security boundaries. For industrial customers, describe the behavior during network outages and which data leaves the plant.
Cloud-native vs. real-time control
Cloud-native technologies are well suited to analytics, MES functions and data services, but general-purpose container platforms do not by themselves provide the deterministic timing required for machine control. Time-critical and safety-related control usually stays on dedicated controllers, with cloud-native services working alongside them.