What is more frustrating than having little flexibility in online services and a long time-to-market? For example, the time it usually takes for the code on a developer's machine to run on the production server? As it seems that the number of start-ups and new business models is growing every year, challengers in the market are more than justifiable concern. As technology is becoming more and more sophisticated, there is a lot of power available for established companies to make a big move in the greater 'to become digital' trend. We gladly explain to you how we see container technology can offer a solution here.
Container technology has grown considerably in recent years and has gained on popularity. But what are containers and what can they be used for? A container is a package with a fixed format containing the application, plus technical components (libraries, utilities and configuration files) which can function independently from the cloud. Thanks to the uniform set-up of containers, and the adoption of their standard by all cloud and tech providers - compare it with uniform containers on a cargo ship - it is possible that an application can work on every platform and operating system. In short, 'build it once, run it anywhere'.
Container technology is open-source and is embraced by today's tech giants of the world, such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Red Hat. These companies further develop the technology and make it available on various platforms. The most famous container tool is 'Docker', which handles the packaging of applications in containers. However, more is needed to deploy container technology.
In order to make different containers work together you need a container platform; for example, Kubernetes. Kubernetes pushes Docker containers to function together. This platform governs the starting, stopping, automatic recovery, configuring, managing and controlling resources for, among other things, storage. With Kubernetes you set up workflows and determine how and which containers should respond to different user requests. Let's put it this way: if Docker containers are the individual musicians, then Kubernetes is the orchestra's conductor.
"If Docker containers are the individual musicians, then Kubernetes is the orchestra's conductor."
So much for the technology behind container technology. If a company wants to apply this technology in its online services for many different business cases, container technology is worth considering, specifically when it comes to demands regarding flexibility, scalability, value creation for end users and more efficient deployments. For example, at ISAAC we apply container technology to a company that works with multiple multidisciplinary teams on one application and which offers online services across national borders. In this specific case not only in Europe, but also in Asia. Thanks to container technology, you can easily expand to other countries where applications can run multi-cloud at the same time.
Container technology is a powerful means to achieve benefits in various areas. The combination of Docker and Kubernetes specifically, provides benefits both technical and business related. The most important advantages:
Perhaps you are now wondering why your company does not yet use container technology or how you can start using it now. We think it is important to emphasize, that getting started with container technology is not a matter of a 'quick win'. Real profit goes together with making a cultural shift in the IT field. We outline the aspects that are involved:
In short, a successful container technology application is primarily based on the right and suitable business case. Want to discuss ISAAC specialists on this subject without obligation? We'd love to give you advise!