VMware gets its Kubernetes game on

Not so long ago (2013), VMware dismissed containers as a trifle, even as the industry went gaga over their potential to up-end the virtualization market. By 2014, VMware started to embrace containers, announcing partnerships with Docker and Google, the latter to improve Kubernetes compatibility with VMware’s software. Even then, however, VMware was more interested in finding ways to defend itself from the rising container tide, rather than helping navigate it. As seen in CNCF contributor data for the Kubernetes open source project, VMware is increasingly keen on steering the Kubernetes ship. Once a relative rounding error in terms of Kubernetes contributions compared to Google and IBM’s subsidiary Red Hat, today VMware is nearly equal with Red Hat’s contributions, giving it the potential to better support (and sell) a Kubernetes future.