Docker Boosts Container Ecosystem With Koality Deal
Docker, the company behind the eponymous software container technology for Linux, is fleshing out its application management platform with the acquisition of integration software developer Koality.
San Francisco-based Docker did not disclose the price it paid for the company.
Docker said Koality engineers and its "continuous integration" technology used to automate secure workloads would hit the ground running as they are immediately folded into development of the Docker Hub Enterprise. That initiative aims to help enterprise IT teams collaborate on the modular components of distributed applications.
Koality's software is already used extensively by Docker developers. Its toolset is designed to simplify workflows associated with managing software versions along with upgrades and updates – what the partners refer to as "continuous integration cycles."
One advantage of Koality's approach is that it helps streamline convoluted workflows that increasingly must adhere to strict security and compliance guidelines, the partners stressed.
In a statement, Docker CEO Ben Golub noted that Koality "stood out" in a survey of its distributed applications ecosystem "in terms of its flexibility to integrate in with existing tools chains and processes while delivering practical, intuitive solutions around the application development lifecycle."
Koality, also based on San Francisco, was founded in 2012 to help software developers test software and automate workflows. The security-minded company's small but well-regarded engineering team will be integrated into development efforts related to Docker Hub. The software-as-a-service offering serves as a platform that allows developers and system administrators to share applications, create new images, and automate workflows.
The Hub contains more than 40,000 open source Docker applications, and the modular components are aimed at simplifying workflows so developers can instead focus on core application services. Docker claims its Hub framework has generated a three-fold increase in applications over the least three months.
Golub noted that Koality's engineering team emerged from Palintir Technologies, which specializes in data security and privacy technologies. The security emphasis could create opportunities to use Docker containers for mission-critical applications.
Jonathan Chu, CEO and co-founder of Koality, is a former Palintir engineer. The startup announced a $1.8 million early funding round last October. Since then, Chu indicated, "there has been an obvious synergy between Docker and Koality" as the movement toward Docker application containers gains momentum and an expanding ecosystem.
Docker estimates its platform for containerized applications has been downloaded more than 28 million times. Rapid adoption of Docker containers has generated more than 40,000 Docker-based applications and integration partnerships with leading cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Cloud Foundry, Google, Microsoft and Rackspace along with open source and virtualization specialists like IBM, OpenStack, Red Hat and VMware.
Other startups are emerging to help bring Docker software container technology into the enterprise. For example, StackEngine surfaced earlier this month from stealth mode to help bring more automation to Docker containers.
