Fernando Alvarez, Cloud Architect at X by Orange, sits down with Stu Miniman and Corey Quinn at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon EU 2019 in Barcelona, Spain #theCUBE #KubeCon #CloudNativeCon https://siliconangle.com/2019/05/24/qa-kubernetes-helps-x-orange-target-smbs-cloud-native-tech-spain-kubeconeu/ Q&A: Kubernetes helps X by Orange target SMBs with cloud-native tech in Spain The Kubernetes container-orchestration system is one of the fastest-growing computing platforms out there. Businesses are turning to the platform to control and automate deployments and updates, orchestrate containers on multiple hosts, and scale resources and applications in real time, among other benefits. One organization putting Kubernetes to work for its business is Orange B4B Technology, a telecommunications company that operates as X by Orange in Spain. The company is working with Red Hat Inc. to implement a cloud-native approach with business customers, resulting in a “provider agnostic” Kubernetes platform on top of multicloud infrastructure, according to Fernando Alvarez (pictured), cloud architect at X by Orange. Alvarez spoke with Stu Miniman (@stu), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, and guest host and cloud economist Corey Quinn (@QuinnyPig) during the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon event in Barcelona, Spain. They discussed the company’s relationship with Red Hat, why it decided to move from a private to a public cloud, and what customers can expect in the future (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.) [Editor’s note: The following answers have been condensed for clarity.] Miniman: Can you explain a little bit about what your group is. Alvarez: X by Orange is a subsidiary of Orange Spain and Orange Telecom Group in France. We try to change the way telco companies operate. We started operations in September of last year to see if we could make things more viable for small- and medium-sized businesses in Spain. Quinn: Do you find that making decisions to enable portability in the future is constraining what you’re able to do or the speed you’re able to innovate with? Alvarez: Yes, but I think the benefits are far better than the drawbacks. I find it’s worth the effort because most of the things you can design as an engineer or as an architect can be solved by not only using a specific solution from the specific cloud provider, but by using a more generic method. You can then assure that you can move easier. You can move from one cloud to another. Miniman: How did you choose the Kubernetes platform? Obviously with Red Hat, one of their strengths is working in lots of different environments. Were you a Red Hat customer? Alvarez: Yes, that was one of the drivers. The other was the support for the platform. We were in a tight schedule, and we knew Kubernetes well, but we weren’t sure if our knowledge was strong enough to be in operation in only nine months. For that, we got Red Hat on board to have all their knowledge in terms of support and professional services to help us determine how to do things through OpenShift. And because OpenShift is distributed by Kubernetes, we were sure we shared the Kubernetes way of doing things. So for us, it was logical. Quinn: What was it that first drove you to move to the public cloud? Alvarez: It was the speed. At the beginning, the whole company was started because we were thinking we were going to build our platform on a private cloud, but we … saw that we needed one more year to start operations. With zero value to the customer, the decision was very easy. We decided, “Let’s go to the public cloud, and let’s think about this if it really adds value in the future.” Miniman: What’s the roadmap from here? How are things going forward? Alvarez: What we’re doing now is building a completely new IT stack to host multi-telco operators. Now, we’re hosting our second telco operator. That’s the Orange Spain branch for small- and medium-sized enterprises. That’s coming to our stack. What we’re doing is integrating the whole stack from Orange Spain to the new one. At the same time, we’re trying to complete our portfolio with new products. And these products will be managed and commercialized by X by Orange as a telco provider and by Orange Spain as another telco provider. Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon event. (* Disclosure: Red Hat Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Red Hat nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)