Local cloud infrastructure provider, Routed, has announced that it now offers Container Service Extension (CSE) within VMware Cloud Director, bringing Kubernetes as a Service (KaaS) to South Africa for the first time. Andrew Cruise, managing director of Routed, says that through these new extensions, cloud providers enable customers with seamless container-deployment, while enjoying a new revenue stream.

“We are proud of this achievement, which is another first in South Africa. VMware’s VMware Cloud Director is already a leading cloud service-delivery platform, which helps manage cloud-service businesses. Extensions such as Kubernetes enable cloud providers to broaden their services offered such as cloud migration, data protection, hybrid connectivity and even turnkey container services. It also makes the hosting choice irrelevant for the end user, bringing it into the foreground for the cloud provider.”

“This also means that the focus moves away from what the infrastructure can provide, rather placing more importance on value adds such as Platform as a Service, uptime guarantees, network interoperability, and competitive pricing,” says Cruise.

Dave Funnell, VMware Senior Manager: Cloud Provider Business, says: “Kubernetes are the building blocks of the digitally-driven business environment today. The work Routed has done to provide KaaS within VMware Cloud Director is significant as it enables local organizations to use the cloud in more disruptive ways. The agility delivered through these containers when combined with the elasticity of VMware Cloud Director will not only deliver increased operational efficiency but offer unique monetisation opportunities.”

Cruise says that IT teams are becoming increasingly DevOps-led, which has resulted in a need to deploy applications and services faster, driving sweeping automation in the infrastructure stack: “Kubernetes, although a fantastic tool for orchestrating dozens of microservices, still require expertise and effort when it comes to scheduling, network configuration, and updates. Thankfully, VMware works closely with cloud providers to not only enable customers with an enterprise-ready managed Kubernetes stack, but also make it available within familiar virtual datacenter constructs that customers love about their cloud providers.”

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