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  1. Home
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  4. Extending Connectivity to Cloud Native and VM-based Applications
[Enterprise](/blog/enterprise)Enterprise
June 25, 2021
3 min read

# Extending Connectivity to Cloud Native and VM-based Applications

Ishwari Lokare

We all know that what customers see in the market is, in fact, only a small percent of the shifts happening within our organizations.

Recently, Time Magazine stated that ["Every Company is a Tech Company… The Disruption is Just Beginning."](https://time.com/5958823/future-of-business-covid-19)"Every Company is a Tech Company… The Disruption is Just Beginning." We're seeing it in the way we wait in lines, find places to stay when traveling and work from anywhere. The disruption is distribution, and it impacts how we live and build applications.

### **Distribution shaping our lives**

  • - Distributed short-term rentals across the world, rather than within a monolithic hotel
  • - Distributed ordering and queuing on mobile apps, rather than in monolithic lines
  • - Distributed employees working from home, rather than together in a monolithic office

### **Distribution shaping our applications**

  • - Distributed applications across multiple clouds, rather than within a monolithic data center
  • - Distributed applications services that allow us to cut the line to get to market, rather than waiting for all components to be updated and released as a monolith
  • - Distributed automated application pipelines, rather than applying monolithic policies before deployment

[](https://konghq.com/resources/digital-innovation-benchmark-2021)

[Two-thirds of organizations are currently going through ](https://konghq.com/resources/digital-innovation-benchmark-2021)Two-thirds of organizations are currently going through the move to distribute their application architectures along with adopting new business models.

But moving from a monolithic model to a distributed model is hard, whether we're talking about your application architecture or your workforce office location. Moving, in general, is hard.

Here comes the analogy that I'm sure you were waiting for…

In some ways, moving from monolithic architecture to a distributed one is similar to how people used to relocate for job opportunities. There's the stress of doing it quickly to keep from paying for two places at once, complicated logistics of renting a truck or hiring a moving company, and then all those boxes.

There would be so much less stress around the whole thing if you could move a room at a time or move across the country as if your new house is down the street. It would mean that you could start with the essentials from your bedroom and go to the attic stuff last. You also wouldn't have that urgency of the moving truck in the driveway.

Like moving homes, applications require the logistics of figuring out what services will go in which containers. Unlike moving homes, you CAN make the move feel like it's next door - removing the need for the moving truck.

In this analogy, the lack of connectivity between your old monolithic application and new distributed services is the moving truck that's forcing you to move all at once.

Beyond Kubernetes: Extending Service Mesh to VMs

## Enter Kong Konnect

Kong Konnect provides connectivity between monolith and microservices through API gateway and service mesh functionality ([to learn the difference, look here](https://konghq.com/ebooks/api-gateways-vs-service-mesh)to learn the difference, look here). The platform is then able to pull your container and VM-based applications, deployed across multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments, together to be virtual neighbors. Learn more about how Kong has helped a leading technology company, [MS3](https://konghq.com/case-study/ms3-selects-kong-mesh-to-power-its-next-gen-integration-platform)MS3, support both VMs and Kubernetes workloads with a single solution and migrate their applications without forklift upgrades.

Now that all of your applications and services are able to talk to each other and be centrally managed, you can:

  1. - Continue realizing returns on legacy application investments by allowing cloud native applications to consume services from legacy applications.
  2. - Migrate applications pragmatically and at your own pace, based on need and value to the business.
  3. - Reassemble and reuse services, as needed, to build new applications. This allows you to ultimately move budget from maintaining applications to innovation.

## WEBINAR: Extending Service Mesh to VMs

Join us July 27 at 9am Pacific Time for a [webinar](https://konghq.com/resources/webinar/kubernetes-service-mesh-vm)webinar where Cody De Arkland, Technical Marketing Engineer at Kong Inc, walks us through how to deploy Kuma and Kong Mesh into a multi-zone deployment supporting [Kubernetes](https://konghq.com/blog/learning-center/what-is-kubernetes)Kubernetes workloads as well as Virtual Machine workloads. He will share how service mesh allows developers and operators to create a consistent, policy driven approach to application connectivity in a multi-cloud world.

[Webinar-Beyond Kubernetes Extending Service Mesh to VMs](https://konghq.com/resources/webinar/kubernetes-service-mesh-vm)Webinar-Beyond Kubernetes Extending Service Mesh to VMs

- [Service Connectivity](/blog/tag/service-connectivity)Service Connectivity- [Cloud Native](/blog/tag/cloud-native)Cloud Native- [Multi Cloud](/blog/tag/multi-cloud)Multi Cloud

## More on this topic

_eBooks_

## Architecting the Future: Cloud Native Applications

_Demos_

## How Should API Gateways And Service Mesh Fit Into Your API Platform?

## See Kong in action

Accelerate deployments, reduce vulnerabilities, and gain real-time visibility. 

[Get a Demo](/contact-sales)Get a Demo
**Topics**
- [Service Connectivity](/blog/tag/service-connectivity)Service Connectivity- [Cloud Native](/blog/tag/cloud-native)Cloud Native- [Multi Cloud](/blog/tag/multi-cloud)Multi Cloud
Ishwari Lokare

Recommended posts

# An Introduction to Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Connectivity

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[Learning Center](/blog)Learning CenterMarch 10, 2022

As the cloud industry matures, its no longer a question of if youre in the cloud, but how many clouds youre in. Most businesses now realize that there isnt a one cloud fits all solution and have shifted towards a hybrid or multi-cloud model. Hybrid

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[](https://konghq.com/blog/learning-center/hybrid-multi-cloud-connectivity)

# 8 Strategy Elements for Building Cloud Native Applications

[Engineering](/blog)EngineeringJune 3, 2024

The cloud native paradigm for application development has evolved significantly since its inception. Today, it encompasses microservices architecture, containerized services, automation, orchestration, distributed management, and emerging technolo

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[](https://konghq.com/blog/engineering/6-strategy-elements-for-building-cloud-native-applications)

# Control Plane vs. Data Plane - What's the Difference?

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[Learning Center](/blog)Learning CenterMarch 10, 2022

If you're diving into Kubernetes or you're getting started with a service mesh, you have likely encountered the terms "control plane" and "data plane." What do these terms mean? Do they refer to the same things in Kubernetes as they do in a service

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[](https://konghq.com/blog/learning-center/control-plane-vs-data-plane)

# Kong Simplifies Multicloud Cloud Gateways with Managed Redis Cache

[Product Releases](/blog)Product ReleasesMarch 12, 2026

Managed Redis cache is a turnkey "Shared State" add-on for Kong Dedicated Cloud Gateways. It is designed to combine the performance of an in-memory data store with the simplicity of a SaaS product. When you spin up a Dedicated Cloud Gateway in Kong

Amit Shah
[](https://konghq.com/blog/product-releases/multicloud-cloud-gateways-managed-redis-cache)

# Configuring Kong Dedicated Cloud Gateways with Managed Redis in a Multi-Cloud Environment

[Engineering](/blog)EngineeringMarch 12, 2026

Architecture Overview A multicloud DCGW architecture typically contains three main layers. 1\. Konnect Control Plane The SaaS control plane manages configuration, plugins, and policies. All gateways connect securely to this layer. 2\. Dedicated C

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[](https://konghq.com/blog/engineering/dedicated-cloud-gateways-managed-redis-multi-cloud)

# 5 Architectural Patterns for Securing Connectivity at Scale

[Enterprise](/blog)EnterpriseJune 3, 2024

In the age of surgical robots, smart refrigerators, self-driving vehicles, and unmanned aerial vehicles, connectivity undoubtedly is a foundational block for our modern world. As we move further into the 2020s, this connectivity has expanded to enco

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[](https://konghq.com/blog/enterprise/5-architectural-patterns-for-securing-connectivity-at-scale)

# Brad x Ahmed: Elements for Building Cloud Native Applications

[Enterprise](/blog)EnterpriseNovember 3, 2022

From time to time, Kong’s Brad Drysdale and Ahmed Koshok exchange emails about the latest trends in tech. In this exchange, Brad and Ahmed discuss the continued quest for more innovation faster, the role of automation in API strategy, and more. fro

Kong
[](https://konghq.com/blog/enterprise/building-cloud-native-applications)

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