Started by: DevOpsNewbie | Jan 2025
Our startup (15 people, 5 developers) is growing and considering moving to containers. Currently just deploying to traditional servers.
Everyone talks about Kubernetes and container automation but seems incredibly complex. Is it overkill for team our size or should we bite the bullet and learn it now?
75% of large enterprises are expected to use container management by 2024 due to cloud-native adoption so feels like we're behind...
Reply by: CloudArchitect_Steve
For 5 developers? Honestly Kubernetes is probably overkill right now. The learning curve is steep and operational overhead significant.
Consider starting with simpler options:
Docker Compose for multi-container apps
Managed services like Google Cloud Run or AWS Fargate (containers without managing orchestration)
Heroku or similar PaaS if you don't need container control
You can always migrate to K8s later when complexity justifies it. Don't solve problems you dont have yet.
Reply by: K8sEnthusiast
Disagree slightly. If your planning to grow, learning K8s now saves pain later. Migration from traditional deployment to containers to K8s is harder than just starting with K8s.
That said, dont run your own cluster. Use managed Kubernetes (GKE, EKS, AKS). Let cloud provider handle the hard parts while you learn the concepts.
Also, automation makes container management much easier. IT automation streamlines container management by providing infrastructure resources, automating container image creation and testing, and configuring containerized applications.
Reply by: StartupCTO_Maria
We went through exact same decision last year with similar team size. Here's what worked for us:
Started with Docker for local development (easy win, everyone happy)
Deployed to AWS Fargate for production (containers without K8s complexity)
Added basic CI/CD automation
NOW learning K8s because we have actual need for it
Step by step approach prevented burnout. Trying to learn everything at once would've killed momentum.
Reply by: DevOpsNewbie
Thanks all! Consensus seems to be "start simple, add complexity as needed" which makes sense.
@CloudArchitect_Steve - good point about solving problems we dont have. Our infrastructure works fine now, just trying to be "modern" because everyone talks about containers.
Think we'll try Docker + managed service approach first.
Reply by: PragmaticDev
Smart choice. Tech industry has bad habit of making people feel behind if they're not using latest tools.
Reality: boring technology that works > shiny new tech that causes headaches.
Use right tool for job, not whatevers trending on Hacker News lol.
