Pivotal Container Service 101 for Business Leaders

We recently explored the key features of Pivotal Container Service (PKS) from the developer and operator perspectives. In this post, we focus on the perspective of business and IT leaders.

What is PKS?

PKS is a commercially supported release of the open source Kubo project that provides a simple way to deploy and operate enterprise-grade Kubernetes. With PKS, you can reliably deploy and run containerized workloads across private and public clouds.

Containers 101

Application containers allow developers to package an application along with all of its underlying dependencies into a lightweight "container" that can run anywhere.

Much like shipping containers, where standardization of size and specs enables products to efficiently travel across the globe on boats, trains, and trucks, application containers bring speed and efficiency to modern development practices.

Kubernetes is the top container orchestrator

Originally created by Google and now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, Kubernetes automates the deployment, scaling, maintenance, scheduling, and operation of multiple application containers.

It has quickly risen to become the standard for container orchestration. In most cases, containers and Kubernetes go hand in hand.

While containers and Kubernetes are white hot technologies creating buzz in the developer community, they are still relatively new to the scene and based in open source. For those reasons, many large enterprises looking to reap all the benefits of containerization have hesitated due to concerns around infrastructure stability, security, and compliance.

PKS changes the equation by providing enterprise-grade Kubernetes that integrates with the existing infrastructure and the tools familiar to your operations team for securing the network and maintaining a stable environment.

You can leverage existing investments — infrastructure & people

This is a key benefit of PKS. Thanks to the heavy contribution from VMware (and its sister company, Pivotal), enterprises with infrastructure based on VMware have a low-friction path to adopting Kubernetes and containers within the environment they already know, using the same fundamental skill sets.

Plus, because PKS was conceived and built through a close collaboration between VMware, Pivotal, and Google, enterprises can adopt the platform with assurances that the technology will remain relevant and supported well into the future. It brings a real sense of stability as you wade into the uncertain waters of containerization.

PKS standardizes Kubernetes

Unstructured pursuits of Kubernetes and other open source technologies often lead to home-brewed solutions built by one team member, which comes with the risk of that knowledge base leaving the organization if that subject matter expert leaves.

PKS makes Kubernetes palatable to an enterprise by standardizing it across your infrastructure for greater continuity and stability as you move forward.

Additionally, PKS's integration with VMware tools means CIOs and other IT leaders have a visibility pane into the whole container environment. This enables more transparency and accountability around the activities of both operations and development.

In summary: it's a platform for cloud-native enterprise IT'S A PLATFORM FOR A CLO

The upshot of all this container technology is the opportunity for an enterprise to remain relevant in a market increasingly defined by digital experiences and the cloud. PKS is an ideal platform for going cloud native with your applications while achieving more scale and faster iteration to continuously improve existing apps and innovate with new ones.

Learn more about how PKS provides a low-friction path to enterprise-grade Kubernetes and cloud-native apps in our recent ebook.