Containerisation and Kubernetes Services

Containerisation means packaging an application with everything it needs to run — its code, runtime, libraries and configuration — into a single portable unit called a container. Containers run consistently regardless of where they’re deployed, which eliminates the “works on my machine” problem and makes applications far more portable between development, test and production environments. For businesses, the practical benefits include faster deployment cycles, better resource utilisation, easier scaling, and a more reliable path to cloud adoption and application modernisation.

Kubernetes is an open-source platform for automating the deployment, scaling and management of containerised applications. It was originally developed by Google and is now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). Kubernetes has become the industry standard for container orchestration because it solves the hard problems that arise when running containers at scale: scheduling workloads across clusters of servers, maintaining application availability, scaling in response to demand, managing configuration and secrets, and handling rolling updates with zero downtime. It is supported by every major cloud provider and underpins a vast ecosystem of tooling.

Containers are the packaging technology — a way of bundling an application with its dependencies into a portable, consistent unit. Kubernetes is the orchestration layer that manages those containers at scale: deciding where they run, ensuring they stay running, scaling them in response to demand, and managing communication between them. You can run containers without Kubernetes, but as soon as you’re running more than a handful of containers in production, you need an orchestration layer to manage them effectively. Kubernetes is the dominant standard for that.

The right model depends on several factors: where your workloads need to run (public cloud, your own infrastructure, or both); what regulatory or data sovereignty requirements apply; your team’s operational capabilities; your existing infrastructure investments; and your commercial objectives. Public cloud Kubernetes suits most organisations starting their containerisation journey. On-premise or hybrid Kubernetes is appropriate where regulatory requirements restrict cloud use or where significant infrastructure investment makes it economical. K3s is the right answer for distributed edge or IoT environments. Many organisations use a combination. We conduct discovery engagements specifically to help organisations work through this — the right answer is rarely obvious without understanding the details.

A Kubernetes Certified Service Provider (KCSP) is an organisation that has been vetted and accredited by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) for its ability to help enterprises successfully adopt and operate Kubernetes. Achieving KCSP status requires demonstrated production experience, CKA-certified professionals, and active Kubernetes community contribution. There are only around 225 KCSPs globally. For organisations selecting a Kubernetes partner, KCSP status is the most reliable independent signal of genuine depth of expertise — it is awarded on the basis of demonstrated experience, not commercial relationships or self-assessment.

With cloud Kubernetes — services like AWS EKS, Azure AKS and Google GKE — the cloud provider manages the Kubernetes control plane on your behalf, removing a significant operational burden. With on-premise Kubernetes, you are responsible for the full stack, including control plane management, high availability design, storage, networking and cluster upgrades. On-premise gives you more control over where your data lives and can be more cost-effective for high-utilisation workloads, but requires more operational expertise. Hybrid environments combine both, with workloads distributed between on-premise and cloud infrastructure based on their requirements.

Red Hat OpenShift is an enterprise Kubernetes platform that adds integrated CI/CD tooling, a container registry, developer self-service environments, automated cluster lifecycle management, enterprise security controls and OpenShift Virtualisation to the standard Kubernetes foundation. It runs consistently across cloud and on-premise environments. OpenShift is the right choice for enterprises with strong governance and compliance requirements, organisations managing workloads across multiple environments, and IBM Cloud Pak users (since all Cloud Paks run on OpenShift). It’s a higher-investment platform that delivers real operational value for complex, multi-team, multi-environment organisations.

K3s is a CNCF-certified Kubernetes distribution optimised for environments where resource constraints are real: it runs on hardware with as little as 512MB of RAM and deploys as a single binary. It’s the right choice for edge computing deployments across many distributed locations, IoT device fleets, development and test environments, and any context where standard Kubernetes resource requirements are impractical. Despite its smaller footprint, K3s is fully Kubernetes-compatible — the same workloads, tooling and Helm charts work without modification.

Yes. VMware migration is one of the most common modernisation engagements we undertake. Red Hat OpenShift Virtualisation allows organisations to run virtual machines directly on the OpenShift platform alongside containerised workloads, providing a path to consolidate VM and container infrastructure without requiring immediate re-platforming of every workload. We take a phased approach: assessing existing VM workloads, establishing the OpenShift platform, migrating suitable workloads to containers, and using OpenShift Virtualisation to host remaining VMs during and after transition. The right approach depends on your workload characteristics and timelines.

Yes. Our 24/7 support desk provides ongoing managed support for Kubernetes environments in production. We handle monitoring and incident response, cluster upgrades and security patching, performance optimisation, cost governance and capacity management. We operate as a fully managed service or in a co-management model alongside your internal team — the level of involvement is determined by what makes sense for your organisation. The same team that designs and builds your platform provides its ongoing support, which means continuity of knowledge and no handoff risk.

Security is embedded into our platform design from the outset rather than being configured after deployment. This includes network policy design to control traffic between services, RBAC configuration with least-privilege access principles, secrets management using tools like HashiCorp Vault, container image scanning and vulnerability management, security hardening of cluster components, and — where compliance frameworks require it — automated compliance scanning against standards such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA and CIS benchmarks. For OpenShift deployments, the platform’s built-in Security Context Constraints provide a more granular security model than vanilla Kubernetes provides.

We work across a broad range of industries, with particular depth in sectors where enterprise technology decisions are complex and the stakes are high: financial services, retail and ecommerce, manufacturing, logistics, media and professional services. Our IBM partnership means we also have significant experience in industries with legacy IBM middleware investments — particularly those running IBM WebSphere, IBM MQ, IBM ACE or IBM Cloud Paks who are modernising onto Kubernetes-based platforms.