Confluent addresses major real-time application roadblocks with Q3 update

California-based Confluent, which offers an Apache Kafka-based data streaming platform, has launched an integration that removes a major roadblock from the process of developing real-time applications.

Currently, developers looking to build and launch data streaming applications with open-source Apache Kafka have to go through manual resource provisioning. They have to send requests to access infrastructure resources, which are often handled by overburdened tech teams that can easily get bogged down in time-consuming, manual processes for managing infrastructure. As a result, the projects, probably focusing on mission-critical use cases, end up being delayed.

Confluent Terraform Provider

The problem has long affected developers, but now, with its Q3 release, Confluent has introduced a solution: Terraform Provider. Developed in partnership with HashiCorp, a leading provider of multi-cloud infrastructure automation software, the integration exposes Confluent cloud APIs for automated deployment and management of mission-critical data streaming resources, including cloud environments, Apache Kafka clusters, networks, topics, connectors and more. 

This way, developers can get easy access to the full set of resources they need and accelerate the data streaming project in question. According to the company, the new integration automates the provisioning and management of data streaming infrastructure throughout all clouds, scaling the benefit of real-time data across the business. It also removes high operational costs and risks associated with manual provisioning.

“The need to stay ahead of customer demands is fueling the shift to technology stacks powered by data streams and cloud technologies,” Ganesh Srinivasan, chief product officer at Confluent, said. “With our HashiCorp Terraform integration, organizations get the power of data streaming across all major cloud providers with the simplicity of infrastructure as code and automation. This means developers have safe, reliable access to the infrastructure resources they need, so they can focus on building applications that truly move the needle for their businesses.”  

Other updates

In addition to Terraform Provider, Confluent’s Q3 release is also adding independent network lifecycle management and login monitoring capabilities. 

As part of the former, the company leverages new REST APIs and Terraform support for network lifecycle management to promote networks to be a first-class resource, enabling organizations to scale data streaming workloads independent of network connectivity. This allows teams to reuse existing network connections for multiple clusters and gain granular access control of network resources through the new RBAC role for network admins. 

Meanwhile, login monitoring allows security teams to see a full list of all users who successfully logged into a Confluent Cloud account and flag bad actors who would otherwise remain hidden. 

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz