Users of VMware Cloud Services are now able to access a new Kubernetes-as-a-Service offering, allowing its customers to tap into this container runtime environment on a pay-for-what-you-eat basis, the enterprise software firm announced last week.
VMware Kubernetes Engine (VKE) is billed as an easy-to-use and cost-effective approach to accessing a container platform for both the development of applications and in-production applications. Originally designed by Google, Kubernetes is an open-source container platform for applications and is maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation.
In a blog post explaining the new service, vice-president of product management at VMware William Shelton says the service is intended to help customers that want to tap Kubernetes without doing all the necessary work of operating the complex environment entailed.
“Some customers we talked to have the scale or the strategic need to build a dedicated Kubernetes team to assure the full value of the platform is available to their applications,” he wrote. “However, we have talked to many customers who see Kubernetes as a candidate to consume as a service where they get all the value of the growing ecosystem while maintaining focus on developing their applications.”
Containers are increasingly popular among developers, with about half of Canadian developers currently using them and more than three-quarters planning to use them in the future, according to a DigitalOcean survey. Other enterprise IT vendors are also predicting increased demand for containers, with Cisco launching its Container Platform in February, and Red Hat and Microsoft announcing a collaboration on container strategy last Fall.
VMware showcases what working with VKE looks like in this Youtube video:
The Kubernetes as a Service offering presently runs on Amazon Web Services, available from three different regions – US west, US east, and Europe West. Running on Microsoft Azure is planned for the future.