Karavan vs Kaoto

[shaun-forgie]

Interested to know which approach we should take for integration design workflows.

[mgubaidullin]

Kaoto is designer of routes while Karavan is end-to-end solution: projects stored in git, designer, build and deployment to Docker or Kubernetes.

What are you looking for?

[shaun-forgie]

I am looking for tooling that can be used by Business Analysts to design and deploy integrations and pipes into a Camelk environment.

[mgubaidullin]

If you're looking for tooling to enable Business Analysts to design and deploy integrations in a CamelK environment, here are a few key considerations:

Camel-K Compatibility:
If you're specifically using Camel-K, then Kaoto is currently the only viable option. This is because Karavan uses its own deployment mechanism that does not rely on the Camel-K operator—instead, it supports direct builds and deployments to Kubernetes and Docker environments.

Target Users – Engineers vs. Business Analysts:
While both Kaoto and Karavan offer low-code interfaces, it's important to understand their target audience. These tools are primarily designed for engineers and technical users, not Business Analysts. They provide abstractions and simplifications, but they still require an understanding of enterprise integration concerns such as data formats, transformations, security, and performance.

Citizen Developer Use Cases:
If your goal is to enable non-technical users to build simple automations—such as posting a Trello card update to Slack—then Camel may be overkill. Camel is designed for complex, enterprise-grade integrations, and lighter tools might be more suitable for these kinds of tasks.