Containers as a Service or CaaS allows organizations to benefit from cloud infrastructure, as well as avoid any vendor lock-ins. Read all about it here
Containers as a Service is a form of container-based virtualization in which the orchestration, engines and underlying processing resources are delivered to users as a service provided by a cloud provider.
In some cases, the acronym CaaS also refers to container support services from a cloud provider.
CaaS allows users to load, organize, run, scale, administer, and stop containers using API calls or a vendor's web portal interface. As with most cloud services, users only pay for the CaaS resources they use (compute instances, load balancing, and scheduling).
CaaS allows organizations to reap the benefits of cloud infrastructure, while at the same time helping to avoid any vendor lock-ins that would typically come with your typical platform-as-a-service (PaaS), as the containers themselves permit simple portability across various environments.
In the field of cloud services, CaaS sits between infrastructure as a service ( IaaS) and platform as a service ( PaaS). However, CaaS is most often positioned as a subset of IaaS. The fundamental resource of CaaS is the container, rather than the virtual machine (VM) or host system on bare hardware (which are used to support IaaS environments). But this container can be run within a VM or on a bare hardware system.
The critical difference between the CaaS offerings from various vendors is usually the container orchestration platform. The difference covers core tasks such as container deployment, cluster management, scale-out, reporting, and lifecycle management. CaaS providers can borrow various orchestration platforms, including Google Kubernetes and nova-docker for OpenStack users. CaaS offerings are generally aimed at Developers who deploy new applications.
Growth of CaaS technology
The worldwide CaaS Market is estimated to witness a CAGR of 34.48% between 2016–2023. The ability to transition to a hybrid cloud and faster & flexible deployment are the main reasons to switch to CaaS. Additionally, microservices and cost savings are some of the factors driving the market.
The CaaS market is analyzed based on four segments – application, deployment, verticals, and regions. North America is on its way to becoming the leading region for the CaaS market growth, followed by Europe for CaaS technology adoption. The Asia Pacific and MEA are set to be the emerging regions. The total MEA market revenue is expected to surpass $122.5 million by 2023.
Advantages and Opportunities with CaaS
Running your containers on CaaS is similar to running your virtual machines on IaaS: The primary advantages are speed of deployment and ease of use, as well as the simplicity of the pay-as-you-go cloud model and the freedom from vendor lock-ins.
By onboarding a cloud vendor to handle your container infrastructure, you can get up and running without having to spend in procuring your own hardware and without developing and running your own Kubernetes clusters (or other container orchestration system). Additionally, by containerizing applications, you can comfortably migrate applications into varied environments or vendor ecosystems, delivering more exceptional flexibility and scalability options.
All of this also has those significant opportunities for cost efficiencies, as containers are better equipped to horizontally scale as demand dictates, allowing businesses to pay only for the cloud resources they employ. Containers are far more lightweight than Virtual Machines (VMs), meaning they are less resource-intensive, often leading to increased speed and reduced costs.
Another benefit comes with instrumentation and logging compatibility, as quarantining singular services in containers can allow for more effective log aggregation and centralized monitoring through the popular sidecar deployment model.
Kubernetes Enablement by VEXXHOST
To take full advantage of your cloud infrastructure, you need to implement an efficient and effective orchestration tool like Kubernetes. Do not miss out on containerization benefits with any ordinary tool. If you are interested in an agile solution that promises an excellent return on investment, then Kubernetes is for you.
We at VEXXHOST are certified Kubernetes and offer Kubernetes Enablement for your OpenStack private cloud. From helping you with its deployment, to management and following through with updates, we will be your side at every step. Get in touch with our experts to know how Kubernetes can enhance your cloud setup and business.
