Item: Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud
Rating: 8
Author: Stephen Rinaldi

Overall Satisfaction with Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

OpenShift is very handy for us. With just a code repository (e.g., imported from Git), OpenShift is able to build the code into a container image, push that image to a registry, create a deployment that references the image, and open the application to the internet. My experience with OpenShift includes deploying an application using s2i (‘Source-to-image’).

Pros and Cons

Pros

Elastic Scaling.
Self-service.
Built-in Security.
AI and ML Capabilities.

Cons

It has a steeper learning curve.
It's more resource hungry.
The user interface could be more user friendly.
Customization options could be more flexible.

Return on Investment

Faster time to market.
OpenShift Automation improves efficiency.
Resource Optimization saves costs (e.g., resources only used when needed).

Alternatives Considered

Docker

Both have unique benefits for different uses. Docker is great for smaller projects on a single host or small cluster, whereas OpenShift is ideal when you need a scalable, fully managed, and secure Kubernetes platform. OpenShift also offers a more fully featured web-based console (along with CLI tools) to make managing clusters, applications, and resources easier.

Key Insights

Do you think Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud's feature set?

Yes

Did Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud again?

Yes

IBM Cloud Portfolio

IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service

It's been a seamless experience using OpenShift within the IBM Kubernetes platform. Automatic scaling on demand, load-balancing, and automated failover all build confidence in the platform. Flexible deployment across IBM Cloud, public clouds, and other private clouds is a benefit. I also really appreciate that the integrated IBM services are more or less future-proof, supporting microservices, serverless, etc.

Other Software Used

GitHub, IBM Watson Natural Language Understanding, MongoDB

Likelihood to Recommend

Scenarios where easy scalability and quick deployment are required are very well suited for OpenShift. Situations, where business continuity is critical (e.g., disaster recovery, redundancy, failover), are all attractive features of OpenShift. However, if budget is a consideration, OpenShift can cost more than other Kubernetes solutions. Also, some third-party tools may not always be compatible.