As container technology adoption continues to advance and mature, companies now recognize the importance of an enterprise container platform. More than just a runtime for applications, a container platform provides a complete management solution for securing and operationalizing applications in containers at scale over the entire software lifecycle.

While containers may have revolutionized the way developers package applications, container platforms are changing the way enterprises manage and secure both mission-critical legacy applications and microservices both on-premises and across multiple clouds. Enterprises are beginning to see that container runtime and orchestration technologies alone don't address these critical questions:

• Where did this application come from?
• Was the application built with company and/or industry best practices in mind?
• Has this application undergone a security review?
• Is my cluster performing as expected?
• If my application is failing or underperforming, where should I look?
• Will this environment run the same on the new hardware/cloud that we're using?
• Can I use my existing infrastructure and/or tools with this container environment?

Leading Industry Analysts Highlight Container Platforms for Enterprise Adoption

For some time, there was a lot of confusion in the market between orchestration solutions and container platforms. But in 2018, we are seeing more alignment across major industry analyst firms over the definition of container platforms. Today, Forrester published the Forrester New Wave™: Enterprise Container Platform Software Suites, Q4 2018, in which Docker was named a Leader.

This report is based on a multi-dimensional review of enterprise container platform solutions that go beyond runtime and orchestration, including:

• Image management
• Operations management
• Security features
• User experience
• Application lifecycle management
• Integrations and APIs
• And more….

Download the full report here.

Enterprise Container Platforms: The Docker Approach

Docker is committed to delivering a container platform that is built on the values of choice, agility, and security. Docker Enterprise is now being used in over 650 organizations around the world, supporting a wide range of use cases and running on a variety of infrastructures including both private data centers and public clouds. Each of these customers is recognizing significant infrastructure cost reduction, operational efficiency, and increased security as a result of containerization.

One key area of focus for us is being an enterprise solution for all applications — including Windows Server applications. While containers did originate with Linux, Windows Server applications represent more than half of all enterprise applications in use today. By partnering with Microsoft since our early days, we have been helping organizations containerize and operate Windows Server applications in production for over two years and counting. More importantly, the Docker container platform addresses both Windows Server and Linux applications — from image management to operations management, integrated security features to user experience and more.

We are honored to be recognized as a Leader in the Forrester New Wave report and look forward to working with more companies as they build out their container platform strategy.

To learn more about Docker Enterprise and the importance of container platforms:

• Download the white paper: The Definitive Guide to Container Platforms
• Test drive Docker Enterprise with our free, hosted trial
• Read the Docker and IDC white paper on the rise of container platforms