Generally, DevOps teams face five common challenges while running stateful services in production and database containers: data portability, high availability, data security, management of database irrespective of infrastructure, and data automation. Portworx, a leading cloud-native storage and data management platform for Kubernetes, remediates these pain points by offering enterprises a set of robust tools to ensure the security and high availability of mission-critical data. Murli Thirumale, co-founder and CEO of the company, says, “Enterprises are adopting containers and Kubernetes to accelerate their hybrid cloud and digital transformation goals. However, for mission-critical applications that include data, enterprises are still struggling to get out of the experimentation phase and into full-scale production.” He continues, “Since Portworx’s inception, our vision has been to accelerate the enterprise transition to modern cloud-native application platforms. Now, we’ve packaged the learnings gleaned from working with dozens of Global Fortune 2000 companies in production to enable the rest to succeed in their ambitious transformation plans.”
Kubernetes was not primarily designed to work with stateful applications like a database. For enterprise applications, these systems have non-negotiable business requirements like high availability, data security, disaster recovery, strict performance SLAs, and hybrid and multi-cloud operations. As a result, the adoption of Kubernetes for mission-critical enterprise applications is limited unless these requirements can be met. That’s where Portworx Enterprise comes in.
The Portworx platform is based on five key components: PX-Store, PX-Central, PX-Security, PX-Data Management, and PX-DR. The PX-Store, ‘the foundation of Portworx Enterprise,’ is storage for Kubernetes. Then comes the PX-Central that ensures the holistic view of every data-rich application running on Kubernetes. Every business needs agility, but the compromising with security to achieve this goal often backfires. PX-Security, a data security tool from Portworx ensures the encryption of Kubernetes data. PX-Data Management plays a vital role in confirming control over Kubernetes data with a single command. “One can’t back up a typical Kubernetes app with a single snapshot because it is composed of multiple stateful pods. PX-Data Management makes taking multi-pod application-consistent snapshots easy,” says Thirumale. Finally, the PX-DR extends the data protection capability and enables enterprises to have an up-to-date backup of mission-critical apps.
Since Portworx’s inception, our vision has been to accelerate the enterprise transition to modern cloud-native application platforms
An instance of customer success can best validate the uniqueness of Portworx’s robust platform. TrustBills, a FinTech company that offers an auction platform for trade receivables, was in search of stable stateful services in containers.
After testing almost every free and open-source product for running stateful containers, TrustBills realized that its requirements for scalability, resilience, and security were still not met. That’s when Portworx entered the picture with its ability to deliver stability and security. “We were super impressed with the service and reaction time whenever we had problems or questions regarding Portworx,” says Herzberg.
Recently, Portworx announced the Portworx Enterprise 2.2—an update to its existing platform. The Portworx Enterprise 2.2 offers a one-command backup and recovery experience for complicated applications that run on Kubernetes and enhances control over critical data. With new features and functionalities, it is expected to take security, data protection, and disaster recovery to new heights.
In a pursuit to further enhance its platform and expand its global footprint, Portworx recently partnered with ACW Distribution, Futong, Ingram Micro, and Syspower. “As companies continue to leverage containers and Kubernetes to transform business, we are here to help them realize the value of their container investments,” says Wally Tung, Managing Director, APJC, Portworx. He continues, “Our company was built with customer needs at the forefront, and this expansion underscores the demand we’re seeing for a cloud-native storage and data management solution that helps enterprises store, run and protect their mission-critical applications running in containers.”
