ISG Provider Lens™ Container Services and Solutions - Kubernetes Platform Solutions - Europe 2021

Portable and flexible software applications. Fast and efficient upgrading. Easy scaling of resources to meet spikes and troughs in business demand. In recent years, the development of lightweight software containers and orchestration tools has revolutionized the IT enterprise market, liberating enterprises large and small from the constraints of fixed, monolithic IT infrastructure. The core idea is simple, but transformative: Instead of programs and software applications being hard-wired to the underlying infrastructure, these are built within software containers that sit atop existing operating systems, functioning independently of each other except for their shared use of the operating system code. Containers can be moved, copied, scaled or linked together to create new applications rapidly and efficiently. Apart from the software itself, there are several other open-source tools to build, run and manage containers, with Kubernetes, originally developed by Google, emerging as the de facto orchestration system for container management.

Containerized solutions and Kubernetes bring platform versatility: As a general-purpose technology, they can be deployed across on-premises data centers, workstations, cloud and, increasingly, edge and internet-of-things (IoT) devices. Today, however, Kubernetes is increasingly associated with cloud-native applications and services, software and program tools built and developed for a cloud environment. By decoupling applications from the constraints of traditional monolithic IT systems, containerization offers many advantages such as low-touch upgrading of applications, minimal downtime for maintenance, rapid supply of computing resources to match demand fluctuations, versatility in program languages (for example, web-based languages), ready-made image databases, and the ability to rapidly develop new products, services and solutions for businesses. Container technology is bringing DevOps — the concept of seamless integration between software development and operations — a step closer to reality, as new containers can be rapidly created or copied to test programs and software without disrupting current operations.

As with all new technologies, containerization also brings new challenges in its wake — technical, human and cultural. Compared with virtual machines, containers are resource efficient, but they also represent a less isolated environment, which can present security risks. With potentially thousands of container clusters deployed across cloud and on-premises data centers, observability becomes a key concern, which includes how to find out what is going on within and between containers and identify where there might be degradation of service or a potential problem emerging. Finding the right mix of observability tools and solutions — from traditional log monitoring and fault tracing to newer tools such as pseudo transactions, remote telemetry and chaos engineering — is essential given the growing complexity of the containers and their supporting ecosystem.

The biggest challenges, however, are often human and cultural in nature. Containers and Kubernetes represent not just a new set of technologies, but a different philosophy of how to manage enterprise IT, involving reliance on a complex ecosystem of open-source and commercial partners, and a blurring of traditional lines between development, operations and security. While it is possible to implement containers and Kubernetes using only open-source tools, many enterprises seek commercial solutions and providers that can ease the implementation process of Kubernetes and provide additional service layers on top. Many turn to the hyperscalers for a full suite of infrastructure and their specific Kubernetes tools, while others look to the traditional IT providers and global service integrators for legacy migrations and managed services using containers.

The pandemic is accelerating demand for containerization and Kubernetes solutions: With the dramatic shift to remote working and online consumption during the pandemic, the demand for cloud-native services, container solutions and Kubernetes platforms has increased. Music streaming, food delivery, home exercise, and finance are some of the sectors that have deployed Kubernetes to manage the rise in demand. Spotify is deploying 150 clusters running 2,800 services. With subscriptions for its home exercise equipment and classes tripling, Peloton has gone from zero usage of Kubernetes a year ago to 100 percent at present. According to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation’s (CNCF) survey of its extended community, 92 percent report using containers in production (up from 23 percent in 2016), while 83 percent report using Kubernetes in production (up from 58 percent in 2018). The shift to containerization is especially pertinent to European companies. These companies are “late bloomers” when it comes to the adoption of cloud, containers and Kubernetes. Therefore, there is an increased need for services and solutions tailored to the European market.

Growing demand for data residency and regulatory compliant solutions: European data sovereignty and data residency requirements are becoming crucial both for European companies and for those with global footprints that include Europe. The European General Data Protection Regulation already imposes restrictions on data transfers outside the EU. France has recently announced a national cloud strategy that will likely increase pressure for data localization within its borders. In addition, some highly regulated industries such as financial services and healthcare need complex and highly segregated data systems. Many providers are developing container management and Kubernetes solutions that are designed to address complex data location and access rules, for example, with the ability to sift data across separate data planes or create tiered authorization rules for data access.

The talent crunch is intensifying: Cloud-native and Kubernetes talent is still scarce in many organizations, limiting faster progress. Third-level educational courses, for example, in computer science, rarely teach Kubernetes as part of the standard curriculum, instead focusing on foundational computing skills. Consequently, organizations must either implement their own on-the-job training or, as many do, look to service providers to equip workers with the necessary skills to manage the transition to containerized cloud solutions. This report considers training capabilities as a key criterion for the evaluation of providers within each quadrant.

Kubernetes is moving to the edge: Some providers are increasingly looking to apply Kubernetes solutions in an edge computing or IoT environment — sensors in factories, kiosks in retail stores and restaurants, field equipment and transport, etc. The goal is to bring compute and storage closer together, with resultant benefits in terms of reduced costs, lower energy requirements, reduced latency and, potentially, the ability to embed elements of intelligent automation such as conversational AI in end-user devices. In some cases, Kubernetes is already being run in low-connectivity environments such as cruise ships. However, some significant challenges remain such as the need to coordinate thousands of applications across different sites. Also, the edge is a more resource constrained and heterogeneous environment, with different standards around connectivity, latency and power consumption. In this context ISG observes an increasing interest in K3s — a stripped-down version of Kubernetes software designed for edge cases and IoT applications, with about one-quarter of the resource requirements of standard Kubernetes.

Open-source ecosystem remains critically important: A resounding message from our conversations with providers was that open-source technology remains an indispensable part of the cloud-native and Kubernetes ecosystem. The reasons vary: Some companies are concerned about lock-in or creating future technical debt from over-reliance on proprietary solutions, while others just want the best of what is available in the ecosystem. Most companies emphasized the importance of the open-source/CNCF ecosystem to their product development and the long-term growth of the industry. And we see providers giving back to the open-source community in a variety of ways: thought leadership, participation in sandbox projects, training and education initiatives, among others.

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