Microsoft buys-up Deis for open-source Kubernetes containers expertise

Microsoft invests in Kubernetes containerisation software developer Deis to help beef-up Azure

Microsoft has purchased Deis, a developer of open-source Kubernetes containerisation technology, as it bids to flesh out its Azure cloud computing platform. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Deis is responsible for the Workflow, Helm and Steward projects. Workflow provides an environment for developers to deploy and manage apps, regardless of platform; Helm is a package manage for Kubernetes, enabling users to define, install and upgrade Kubernetes applications; and, Steward provides a Kubernetes-native service broker.

"Container technology is rapidly changing the way teams build, package, deliver, and manage applications," wrote Deis chief technology officer Gabriel Monroy in a blog post revealing the acquisition by Microsoft.

He continued: "Robust and open container orchestration, paired with new application architectures are giving organisations unprecedented flexibility and choice.

"From the early days of containers through [to] the rise of Kubernetes, Deis has always been focused on building and contributing open-source technologies that make life easy for developers and operators to build and run applications."

Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of the Cloud and Enterprise Group at Microsoft, admitted that the software giant had seen a big growth in interest and deployment for running containerised workloads in its Azure cloud environment.

"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 Guthrie.

Guthrie described Deis as having been "at the centre of the container transformation" giving "developers the means to vastly improve application agility, efficiency and reliability through their Kubernetes container management technologies".

In addition to expertise in the development of container software technology, the acquisition would also add open-source software development "depth" to Microsoft, Guthrie added.

He continued: "We expect Deis' technology to make it even easier for customers to work with our existing container portfolio including Linux and Windows Server Containers, Hyper-V Containers and Azure Container Service, no matter what tools they choose to use."

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