Chapter 3 Cloud Native Applications Inside » Defining cloud native applications » Understanding the foundational architecture » The technology building blocks for cloud native ap- plications » Preparing your company for modern app develop- ment It should come as no surprise that an increasing number of businesses leverage cloud computing to support the speed and change necessary to stay competitive and sup- port their customers and partners. As companies con- tinue to invest in the cloud infrastructure, IT leaders are discovering it is not enough to simply move applications and services to the cloud. There needs to be a concerted and well-planned approach that marries the flexibility of the cloud with the requirement for continuous integra- tion and continuous delivery discussed in Chapter 2. The industry has done a good job of creating a scalable computing infrastructure. However, the real value for or- ganizations moving forward is the transition to cloud na- tive applications. In this chapter, we explain what cloud native applications are and their importance in creating an agile development and deployment environment. 30