Verizon’s Business unit launched a new Kubernetes-based edge option for its Virtual Network Services (VNS) platform that allows enterprises to deploy applications running in containers orchestrated by Kubernetes at the edge of the network.

The VNS Application Edge platform-as-a-service (PaaS) taps vendor Rafay Systems to provide an automation framework for managing Kubernetes clusters and containerized application deployment. This includes deployments in multi-cloud and multi-cluster environments.

The launch now allows Verizon Business to provide a single, orchestrated platform and end-to-end service management for network and now containerized application lifecycle management.

Beth Cohen, cloud technology strategist at Verizon, said the launch is a “huge step forward” for the carrier’s VNS operations. She explained that while the legacy system was focused on the network side, the Application Edge iteration “represents the ability for customers to be able to put their own applications on that same platform.”

“And they're not limited to network services,” Cohen said. “They can be logistics, they can be IoT-type diagnostics, inventory … whatever. As long as it's a containerized application it can be deployed.”

Cohen added that there has been a “gap in the market for this at the edge.”

“I’d say there’s been a lot of promise and there’s been some fruition, but this is taking it to the next level,” she explained.

That edge push is also tangentially tied to Verizon’s ongoing work in extending the reach of its 5G network to the edge. The carrier this week announced a deal with Microsoft to install private edge locations at enterprise locations. That followed on an agreement to tap into Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Wavelength edge computing service.

“Those applications we announced can be used with Application Edge, but they don’t need to be,” Cohen clarified. “Customers can use both to create their edge infrastructure, but they don’t need one or the other.”

The Application Edge service runs on the existing VNS platform that the carrier launched in mid-2016. It acts as a platform that allows enterprise customers to spin up virtualized services running on Verizon’s OpenStack-based virtual network infrastructure.

Cohen noted that there was no need to alter that infrastructure layer as the new services are treated like an application or virtual machine (VM) running on top. The secret sauce is that it uses Kubernetes running on top of OpenStack to orchestrate the applications that a customer activates and can control from a single pane of glass.

“The big addition is the portal, which we give customer access to,” Cohen said. “It provides access control and allows the customer to see, deploy, and manages those applications, Verizon doesn’t. And that’s very important to our customers. We know if that service is up or down, but we are not going to see the application running in that container.”

As for the reliance on Kubernetes, Cohen noted that most of Verizon’s customers are already either using the container orchestrator to manage their applications or at least developing those plans. “The tipping point for us was that the majority of new development of applications is in containers and microservices so for us to provide that for our customers that don’t need all of that fancy network stuff is fine,” she explained.

Verizon is also tapping into Kubernetes as part of its 5G network deployment. The carrier earlier this year announced it had been working with Samsung, Intel, and Wind River to virtualize its network assets that used Wind River’s Kubernetes and container-based middleware. The carrier is working toward virtualizing its various networks under a common, unified framework.

The deal is also a big score for Rafay Systems. The company launched its Kubernetes lifecycle management software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform a year ago. It’s built on top of native Kubernetes and was designed to provide lifecycle management for containerized applications including application abstraction and cluster blueprinting. It also allows multi-cluster federation so customers can deploy and operate containerized applications across any number of Kubernetes clusters spread across regions and hybrid environments.

Cohen explained that the Rafay platform was appealing because its “portal is neutral so it works across all of the major hyperscalers.”

“The big draw was that you could centralize the deployment and lifecycle management of the clusters and the containerized Kubernetes platform, but also the applications as well,” she said. “It’s a nice combination of integration that allows us to do this.”

That also plays into the benefits of the managed part of the Verizon offering as enterprises continue to struggle with their Kubernetes deployments.

A recent survey from Kubernetes platform provider D2iQ found that 94% of organizations run into challenges when moving Kubernetes-managed applications into production. Despite those challenges, 77% of IT decision makers and developers surveyed said that Kubernetes is a central part of their pandemic-accelerated digital transformation strategy.”