The Post-Docker World: What's Next in Application Deployment?

Docker containers are going mainstream. That begs the question: What’s the next big innovation in infrastructure technology after Docker containers stop being cutting-edge?

If you want to understand what comes after Docker containers have transitioned from being a huge innovation into just another mainstream technology, you have to understand how Docker became so popular.

Docker containers debuted barely four years ago. In that short time, they have been embraced by organizations large and small as a faster, leaner, more agile way to deploy applications.

In most cases, those organizations have used Docker containers to replace the virtual machines or bare-metal servers that they traditionally used to deploy applications. Although Docker doesn’t make it possible to get rid of host servers entirely — Docker still requires some type of host server for the Docker environment — containers allow host environments to become much more generic.

That’s because when your application is powered by Docker, there is much less configuration for you to worry about. You don’t have to set up and maintain a host server configured for the specific type of application you want to deploy. Any server capable of hosting Docker will do the job.

It is this ability to simplify application deployment and management that forms the crux of Docker’s impressively quick rise to massive popularity.

The Post-Docker World

Docker is no longer a new technology. Containers are now being used everywhere from small startups to big companies like Netflix and the BBC.

So, what comes after Docker? Where will innovative companies look to make application deployment even faster and easier than Docker can on its own?

Here are some newer or emerging types of infrastructure technology and concepts that will help innovate beyond Docker:

It’s too early to say that Docker has fully run its course. Docker adoption will continue to grow as more and more organizations learn to build production environments using containers.

But once Docker has lost its shine and is just another typical technology, the tools and concepts discussed above will be on the cutting edge of innovation in the realm of application deployment and infrastructure management. They’re all technologies that already exist. They’re just waiting for Docker to step aside in order to become the next big thing.