Standardization of Data on Kubernetes Has Led to Massive Productivity, According to First-of-its-Kind Survey

Insights from more than 500 Kubernetes users provides insight into types and volume of data-intensive workloads, benefits and challenges, and factors driving adoption

OREGON CITY, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stateful workloads on Kubernetes are pervasive and the most advanced users are seeing massive productivity gains with standardization as a key driver, according to a report released today by the Data on Kubernetes Community (DoKC).

The report includes insights from more than 500 Kubernetes users that shed light on the types and volume of data-intensive workloads being deployed in Kubernetes, benefits and challenges, and the factors driving further adoption. The study, Data on Kubernetes 2021, revealed that a large majority are running stateful workloads on Kubernetes in production with standardization listed as a key driver – and they want even more.

Key findings

• Kubernetes has become a core part of IT – half of the respondents are running 50% or more of their production workloads on it, and they’re very satisfied and more productive as a result. The most advanced users report 2x or greater productivity gains.
• 90% believe it’s ready for stateful workloads and a large majority (70%) are running them in production, with databases topping the list. Companies report significant benefits to standardization, consistency, and management as key drivers.
• However, significant challenges remain. As they seek to expand their data on Kubernetes footprint, enterprises find a lack of integration and interoperability with existing tools and stacks; skilled staff; quality of Kubernetes operators; and trusted vendors.
• Business demands are creating pressures for further adoption. The increasing importance of real-time data to competitive advantage will sharpen companiesʼ need to run data on Kubernetes. A majority believe standards will improve data management and that data should become declarative.

“This industry-first report illuminates how widespread the use of stateful workloads on Kubernetes is while highlighting key areas for improvement,” said Melissa Logan, DoKC director. “Standardization across multi-cloud and hybrid environments is driving adoption, with a majority of the survey respondents hoping for data standards – and declarative data – to expand the efficiencies they seek.”

Research methodology: DoKC in partnership with ClearPath Strategies surveyed an international audience of 502 executives and technical practitioners spanning a variety of industries. Sixty percent of their organizations had more than 1,000 employees, and none had fewer than 100. The report was funded by DoKC sponsors.

Today, the DoKC hosts more than 4,000 individual members across its Slack and LinkedIn channels, and has held close to 100 meetups ranging from how Adobe operates stateful applications on Kubernetes across multiple data centers and regions, to practical questions such as how to deploy production-ready Postgres to Kubernetes. It recently announced founding sponsors and the schedule for the second DoK Day at KubeCon North America 2021, including talks from enterprises including 99.co, Flipkart, Macquarie Bank, Sourcegraph, Zalando, and others.

The full report is available here.

About Data on Kubernetes Community (DoKC)

Kubernetes was initially designed to run stateless workloads. Today it is increasingly being used to run databases and other stateful workloads. The Data on Kubernetes Community was founded in June 2020 to bring practitioners together to solve the challenges of working with data on Kubernetes. An openly governed community, DoKC exists to assist in the emergence and development of techniques for the use of Kubernetes for data. https://dok.community/