Why Confluent Trusts Isovalent Enterprise Platform for Kubernetes Multi-Cloud Excellence

Confluent, a leader in data streaming and real-time analytics, provides a cloud-native platform that powers mission-critical applications for thousands of businesses. Operating Confluent Cloud across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud brings immense flexibility—but also introduces networking complexity, cost inefficiencies, and security challenges.

Each cloud provider has its own networking model. Making things work consistently across AWS, Azure, and GCP was a huge challenge.

Alvaro Aleman, Staff Software Engineer at Confluent

To reduce cloud costs, standardize networking across providers, and simplify operations, Confluent partnered with Isovalent—a cloud-agnostic networking and security platform, built for Kubernetes at scale.

When it comes to multi-cloud networking, maintaining consistency and controlling costs is critical. Here’s how Confluent leveraged Isovalent to simplify operations, optimize data flow, and ensure high-performance networking across cloud providers.

📽️ Watch our conversation with Confluent’s experts to hear firsthand how they tackled multi-cloud networking challenges with Isovalent Networking for Kubernetes. Prefer to read? Keep scrolling for the full case study.

Navigating Multi-Cloud Networking Challenges

Operating across multiple cloud providers introduces distinct challenges, requiring a consistent, scalable, and cost-effective approach to networking:

• Inconsistent Networking Features Across Clouds: Each cloud provider has its own networking model, making it difficult to maintain uniform performance, security policies, and visibility across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• Rising Cloud Costs Due to Inefficient Traffic Routing: Unnecessary inter-region and inter-AZ data transfers can lead to excessive costs, impacting operational margins.
• Developer Complexity & Efficiency: Different CNI (Container Networking Interface) implementations across cloud providers forced teams to manage multiple configurations, slowing deployments and troubleshooting.
• Security & Compliance Gaps: Enforcing consistent security policies and implementing Zero Trust networking across diverse cloud environments remained a challenge..
• Limited Network Observability: Debugging networking issues was time-consuming and inconsistent due to lack of deep visibility across cloud providers.

Without a standardized, cost-efficient networking strategy, managing multi-cloud environments would remain expensive, complex, and operationally challenging for Confluent.

Cloud providers charge for data transfer between availability zones and regions, so optimizing traffic routing is critical. Alongside using Cilium, we can ensure that customer traffic stays within the same availability zone, avoiding unnecessary fees and reducing cloud costs.

Alvaro Aleman, Staff Software Engineer at Confluent

Transforming Multi-Cloud Networking with Isovalent

Confluent selected Isovalent Networking for Kubernetes as its foundation for cloud-agnostic, cost-optimized networking that enables unlocking efficiency, security, and operational simplicity.

• Consistent Networking Across AWS, Azure, and GCP: Cilium provided a single networking solution that abstracted cloud-specific complexities, ensuring uniform connectivity, security policies, and performance across providers.
• Reduced Cloud Costs Through Smart Traffic Routing: By keeping customer data within the same availability zone, Confluent eliminated costly inter-AZ and inter-region transfers, leading to significant cost savings.
• Simplified Multi-Cloud Networking for Developers: Developers no longer had to manage different CNIs per cloud—Isovalent Enterprise Networking for Kubernetes unified networking layer reduced cognitive overhead, accelerating application delivery.
• Enterprise Support & Feature Collaboration: With direct access to Isovalent’s engineering team, Confluent benefitted from fast and efficient integration and transition to production, achieving the full value of the isovalent Enterprise Platform at an accelerated pace
• Improved Troubleshooting and Faster Time to Resolution: Cilium’s Hubble observability tool gave Confluent real-time insights into data flows, significantly improving troubleshooting and network optimization.

Scale and Succeed with Isovalent: Top 3 Use Cases for Your Kubernetes Journey

See the key use cases driving the adoption of Isovalent’s technical solutions and Isovalent’s role in future-proofing your infrastructure, reducing tool sprawl, and accelerating teams on the path to platform and compliance.

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How Confluent Optimized Multi-Cloud Networking

By implementing the Isovalent Platform, Confluent successfully addressed its key networking challenges:

• Unified Multi-Cloud Networking
  • Standardized networking, security policies, and observability tools across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
  • Abstracted CNI differences, simplifying deployments across providers.
• Optimized Traffic Flow & Cost Reduction
  • Ensured customer traffic remained within the same cloud region and availability zone.
  • Avoided unnecessary inter-AZ and inter-region data transfers, reducing cloud costs.
• Enterprise Support & Feature Development
  • Regular collaboration with Isovalent engineers to enhance Isovalent Enterprise Platform for multi-cloud use cases.
  • Fast response times ensured smooth operations at scale.
• Enhanced Security with Zero Trust Architecture
  • Identity-based security policies are enforced consistently across all cloud environments.
  • Eliminated cloud-specific security gaps, ensuring compliance.
• End-to-End Network Observability & Troubleshooting
  • Hubble provided deep insights into network performance and security.
  • Proactive issue resolution led to fewer outages and faster response times.

Before Cilium, our teams had to manage different networking configurations per cloud. Now, networking is standardized, and our developers don’t have to think about cloud-specific differences

Alvaro Aleman, Staff Software Engineer at Confluent

What’s Next for Confluent & Isovalent?

With Isovalent  fully deployed as Confluent’s networking backbone, the company is now focused on:

• Expanding Isovalent Enterprise Platform’s Capabilities: Exploring additional performance optimizations and security features.
• Scaling Multi-Cloud Networking Further: Improving optimizing latency and cross-cloud connectivity for geographically distributed applications.
• Ongoing Feature Collaboration: Continue co-develop features with Isovalent to enhance Kubernetes networking.

Why Companies Choose Isovalent for Multi-Cloud Networking

When it comes to multi-cloud networking, enterprises need a consistent, cost-effective, and high-performance solution that works across AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Confluent’s success with Isovalent demonstrates how a cloud-agnostic networking layer can reduce costs, simplify operations, and enhance security. With optimized traffic routing, unified observability, and streamlined security enforcement, Isovalent has empowered Confluent to scale its real-time data streaming platform with confidence.

For businesses navigating multi-cloud complexity, Isovalent provides a proven path to success. Whether the goal is cost savings, security enhancement, or operational simplicity, the Isovalent Enterprise Platform delivers a scalable and future-proof foundation for Kubernetes networking.

If your team is facing similar multi-cloud networking challenges, our experts are here to help. Contact us today to explore how Isovalent Enterprise for Cilium can optimize your cloud networking strategy.