Kubernetes (k8s) has become the de‑facto standard for container orchestration, yet the learning curve is steep and the ecosystem vast. Should every team adopt it? Absolutely not. This article lays out criteria to decide whether Kubernetes is the power tool you need — or an over‑engineered distraction.

TL;DR: Choose Kubernetes for heterogeneous, rapidly scaling workloads with strong automation needs; skip it for simple, low‑scale apps that can live happily on managed PaaS or serverless.

The Case For Kubernetes

Signal you should consider K8s	Why it matters
Multiple containerized services with complex dependencies	K8s handles networking, service discovery, and rolling updates out‑of‑the‑box.
Frequent deploys (daily+) across many teams	Namespaces, RBAC, and GitOps pipelines support multi‑team velocity.
Spiky or unpredictable traffic requiring auto‑scaling	Horizontal Pod Autoscaler + Cluster Autoscaler scale workload and nodes.
Hybrid / multi‑cloud strategy	K8s provides a near‑identical API whether on‑prem or cloud.
Regulated industries needing portability	Avoids cloud lock‑in, simplifies compliance audits with consistent runtime.
Platform engineering mindset	You plan to offer PaaS‑like abstractions (internal developer platform) on top of k8s.

The Case Against Kubernetes

Warning sign you should avoid / defer K8s	Simpler alternative
Single or few services with low traffic	AWS App Runner, Heroku, Render, Fly.io
Team lacks container expertise	Managed PaaS or FaaS (Lambda, Azure Functions) offload infra chores.
Predictable, steady load on one VM can handle	A VM with systemd + Docker Compose; cheaper and easier.
Heavy stateful workloads where operator maturity is lacking	Managed RDS, ElastiCache, Cloud SQL — not Helm charts.
Strict cost constraints for early‑stage startup	K8s control plane + networking overhead can outweigh savings.
Project lifespan < 12 months (hackathon, MVP)	Faster to iterate on serverless PaaS; migrate to k8s later if needed.

Decision Flowchart

flowchart TD
    A["Need to run containers?"] -->|No| Z["Use PaaS/FaaS"]
    A -->|Yes| B["Multiple services & teams?"]
    B -->|No| Z
    B -->|Yes| C["Traffic spiky or multi-region?"]
    C -->|No| D["Managed PaaS with autoscaling"]
    C -->|Yes| E["Operations skillset in-house?"]
    E -->|No| D
    E -->|Yes| F["Kubernetes (managed flavor first)"]

Managed vs Self‑Managed Clusters

Option	Pros	Cons
EKS / AKS / GKE	Control plane managed, integrates with cloud IAM & load balancers	Still need node patching, network policy, backing services
K3s / MicroK8s	Lightweight, great for edge/dev	Limited multi‑node features, DIY HA
Vanilla upstream	Total control, no cloud lock	Highest ops overhead — etcd, upgrades, HA, security fixes

Recommendation: Start with a managed service; move to self‑managed only for air‑gapped or edge cases.

Hidden Costs & Complexity Checklist

• Networking: CNI plugin quirks, service mesh overhead.
• Storage: CSI drivers, stateful sets, volume snapshots.
• Security: PodSecurity standards, network policies, IAM integration.
• Observability: Prometheus/Grafana, Loki, Jaeger — all extra components.
• Upgrades: Control plane + node upgrades every ~3–6 months.
• Cluster sprawl: Each env/region = another control plane to manage.

If you can’t budget engineering time for these, stay with managed PaaS.

Best‑Practice On‑Ramp (If You Choose K8s)

1. Start with a thin platform: GitOps (Argo CD), cert‑manager, external‑dns, Autoscaler.
2. Apply PodSecurity Standards (restricted) on day 1.
3. Adopt Helm or Kustomize for repeatable deployments.
4. Use managed add‑ons (EKS Blueprints, AKS add‑ons) where possible.
5. Automate upgrades via managed release channels and periodic test clusters.

Real‑World Examples

Org size	Decision	Rationale
10‑person startup MVP	Skipped k8s	One Node.js API + Postgres; used Fly.io; hit prod in a week.
120‑person SaaS scale‑up	Adopted k8s (EKS)	30+ services, multi‑AZ burst traffic; platform team of 4.
Large bank, on‑prem	Self‑managed k8s	Regulatory portability, existing ops staff.

Conclusion

Kubernetes is a fantastic hammer — but only when you actually have nails. Measure your workload complexity, team skills, and cost tolerance before embracing the K‑word. Start managed, iterate slowly, and remember: simplicity scales, too.

Need help deciding? nScope offers 90‑minute “Should We K8s?” workshops to evaluate your stack and recommend the least‑complex path.

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