Cloud Native Anti-Patterns: Avoiding Common Mistakes and Driving Success with Best Practices and Real-World Cases

Build a resilient, cloud-native foundation by tackling common anti-patterns head on with practical strategies, cultural shifts, and technical fixes across AWS, Azure, and GCP

Key Features

• Identify common anti-patterns in agile cloud-native delivery and learn to adopt good habits
• Learn high-performing cloud-native delivery with expert strategies and real-world examples
• Get prescriptive guidance on how to spot and remediate anti-patterns in your organization
• Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

Successfully transitioning to a cloud-native architecture demands more than just new tools—it requires a change in mindset. Written by cloud transformation experts Gerald Bachlmayr, Aiden Ziegelaar, Alan Blockley, and Bojan Zivic—this guide shows you how to identify and remediate cloud anti-patterns, manage FinOps, meet security goals, and understand cloud storage, thus steering your organization to become truly cloud native. You will develop the skills necessary to navigate the cloud native landscape, irrespective of the platform: AWS. Azure or GCP!

You’ll start by exploring the events that shaped our understanding of the modern cloud-native stack. Through practical examples, you’ll learn how to implement a suitable governance model, adopt FinOps and DevSecOps best practices, and create an effective cloud native roadmap. You will identify common anti-patterns and refactor them into best practices.

The book examines potential pitfalls and suggests solutions that enhance business agility. You’ll also gain expert insights into observability, migrations, and testing of cloud native solutions.

What you will learn

• Get to grips with the common anti-patterns of building on and migrating to the cloud
• Identify security pitfalls before they become insurmountable
• Acknowledge governance challenges before they become problematic
• Drive cultural change in your organization for cloud adoption
• Explore examples across the SDLC phases and technology layers
• Minimize the operational risk of releases using powerful deployment strategies
• Refactor or migrate a solution from an anti-pattern to a best practice design
• Effectively adopt supply chain security practices

Who this book is for

This book is for cloud professionals with any level of experience who want to deepen their knowledge and guide their organization toward cloud-native success. It is Ideal for cloud architects, engineers (cloud, software, data, or network), cloud security experts, technical leaders, and cloud operations personnel. While no specific expertise is required, a background in architecture, software development, data, networks, operations, or governance will be helpful.

Table of Contents

1. The Benefits of Cloud Native and Common Misunderstandings
2. Strategizing Your Shift to Cloud Native
3. Rethinking Governance in a Cloud-Native Paradigm
4. How to Avoid a Bill Shock
5. Deliver Rapidly and Continuously without Compromising Security
6. How to Meet Your Security and Compliance Goals
7. Expressing Your Business Goals in Application Code
8. Don't Get Lost in the Data Jungle
9. Connecting It All
10. Observing Your Architecture
11. Running It without Breaking It
12. Migrating from Old to New
13. How Do You Know It All Works?
14. How to Get Started with Your Cloud Native Improvement Journey
15. Transitioning

Gerald Bachlmayr has worked in IT for over 25 years. He started as a web developer and spent many years as a Java software engineer for professional service organizations for various industries, including financial services, aviation, tertiary education, government, and telecommunications. He moved into technical leadership and architecture roles while staying hands-on with coding languages such as Python, NodeJS, and CI/CD tooling, including Terraform Cloud and GitHub. Gerald has been specializing in cloud native solutions since 2015 and is a passionate AWS Community Builder. As an author and public speaker, he is keen on sharing his insights and learnings with the community to make the cloud an even better place.

Aiden Ziegelaar is an experienced multidisciplinary engineer with a focus on cloud transformation, cloud native software development, and electrical engineering. With a strong background in various industries, including Telcos, Edutech, Industry 4.0 and utilities at scales from startups to enterprises, he has gained a wealth of knowledge and expertise in delivering innovative and effective solutions to complex problems. Transforming clients to effectively leverage cloud technologies has been a cornerstone of his career.

Alan Blockley is a Domain Specialist with over 25 years of IT experience, specializing in AWS cloud technology. Based in Brisbane, he has conducted hundreds of AWS Well-Architected Framework Reviews and has extensive experience in presales, cloud operations, and engineering. As a recognized leader, Alan has driven technical validations and mentored teams in DevOps practices. He holds multiple AWS certifications and was named the top AWS Ambassador for ANZ in 2023 and 2024. Alan is also an AWS Serverless Community Builder and an Associate Certification Subject Matter Expert, demonstrating his deep commitment to the AWS community, speaking at localized user groups and conferences on cloud native topics.

Bojan Zivic is an AWS Ambassador, Serverless AWS Community Builder, and Principal Consultant, with a passion for cloud technology and a dedication to fostering community; Bojan hosts and organizes the Brisbane Serverless User Group and the Sydney GitHub User Group. With nine years of experience in IT, Bojan is an enthusiastic advocate for serverless and container computing. His expertise extends to AWS advisory work and comprehensive Kubernetes projects. He has implemented GitOps with ArgoCD, built Istio service meshes, and provided extensive support across the Kubernetes spectrum, not just serverless. His work and community efforts solidified his reputation as a leader in the cloud and DevOps communities.