Microsoft announced Monday, April 10, that it will officially acquire Deis, the company responsible for some of the most well-known tools for building and managing applications on top of the open-source Kubernetes container orchestration system.
Microsoft Acquires Deis For Container Innovation
Both companies failed to disclose specific details about the acquisition, including how much Microsoft bought Deis for. The inked deal marks Microsoft's continued interest in container orchestration.
Containers, as Microsoft notes, have been at the forefront of cloud innovation and transformation in years, primarily because the platform allows organizations and enterprises to build, deploy, and move applications to and from the cloud.
"At Microsoft, we've seen explosive growth in both interest and deployment of containerized workloads on Azure, and we're committed to ensuring Azure is the best place to run them," wrote Microsoft in a blog post. To that end, Microsoft has shopped up Deis, describing the company as one that's been "at the center of the container transformation."
For some who might not be aware, Engine Yard already acquired Deis back in 2015, so Microsoft is purchasing it directly from Engine Yard, although it made no mention of such in the official announcement.
Jumping Aboard The Kubernetes Trend
The move further highlights Kubernetes as the de facto choice for container systems, even though Microsoft's own Azure Container service supports all the major container orchestration frameworks. More than anything else, the purchase spells the company's intent to stay shoot atop the Kubernetes trend, especially since containers are rapidly altering and dictating how companies build and deploy their applications.
The purchase is obviously for Microsoft to leverage the technology, but as with any other acquisitions, it entails the talent behind the technology, too. As such, experts with a lot of knowhow on Kubernetes will now be available at Microsoft's disposal.
But What Even Is A Container?
Containers aren't discussed much, but they are incredibly crucial. Developers know all too well about the grab-bag terms: Docker, Kubernetes, Mesos, and a slew of others — but a large group of people don't. Major tech companies the likes of Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft seems to have participated in this trend years ago, so what exactly are containers?
For starters, containers pack codes and their dependencies into one container so they can run anywhere, instead of shipping a full operating system and a specific software. Because containers are also typically very small, developers can pack lots of them onto a single computer.
Simply put, containers make it easier for developers to determine if their software will run, irrespective of where it's deployed.
Deis
Deis has three key open-source tools for executing Kubernetes deployments: Workflow, Helm, and Steward. Of course, much like the companies similar to it, Deis relies on providing paid support and training for its applications. The company will resume development of these open-source tools even now that it's about to nest at Microsoft's neck of the woods.
Thoughts about Microsoft's decision to acquire Deis? In what ways do you think will this amplify the Kubernetes trend? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
