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Survey: Docker Adoption 'Ahead of Schedule' in Enterprise

Several hurdles, including security, are keeping it from full acceptance into production.

• By Keith Ward
• 02/12/2015

A new survey of Docker usage finds that more than 70 percent of respondents are either using the container technology or evaluating it for future use.

The survey was conducted by VMblog.com and CloudCow.com, and was sponsored by StackEngine, a vendor of management and automation tools for Docker. A graphic of the results shows that of the 745 people surveyed, just 7 percent have never heard of Docker. In addition, 23 percent of people are familiar with Docker, but aren't currently using it.

The survey is recent, having been conducted earlier this year. The majority of respondents -- 65 percent -- are using a VMware infrastructure. The predominant uses for Docker at this time are for QA/Test (63 percent) and development (53 percent) purposes. That means most are still keeping Docker out of production environments; just 31 percent are putting it on the front lines. But the report spins that positively, too: "… this number suggests that Docker is being embraced in a relatively quick order relative to how long the technology has been around."

The two reasons most often cited for why Docker wasn't being used in production were its security model, and the lack of operational tools for production -- both listed by 49 percent of respondents.

The top reasons for using Docker were its advantages in a hybrid cloud (both public and private) environment, VMware costs and "pressure from Test," presumably a desire among developers for containers in which to test code.

Another interesting nugget from the survey was the top three application types Docker is most used for: test and QA apps; Web-facing apps; big data and enterprise apps. Both VMware and Microsoft have been making strong pushes of late to integrate Docker containers into their platforms. At the same time, competing container technologies, like Rocket, are also trying to break into the space. As of right now, though, Docker remains nearly synonymous with "containers."