Software container company Docker Inc. is offering an olive branch to enterprises still running legacy applications on outdated versions of Windows Server with its latest platform update released Thursday.

The headline feature of Docker Enterprise 2.1 is the new Windows Server migration program that’s designed to help companies containerize their older applications. The release also adds support for the latest versions of Microsoft Corp.’s enterprise operating system.

Docker Enterprise is a package of tools that organizations need to get Docker’s container platform up and running. Containers allow applications to run on multiple computer systems without modification. Because Docker implementations can be quite complex, Docker’s enterprise-grade platform is aimed at organizations that lack the skills and expertise to do so by themselves.

The new Windows Server Application Migration program is an interesting idea because, according to the Spiceworks Inc. IT community, some 70 percent of Windows Server apps remain stuck on the 2003 and 2008 versions of that software. This is a problem for many companies because Microsoft ended support for Windows Server 2003 back in July 2015, while support for Windows Server 2008 will cease within the next two years.

Docker is trying to capitalize on that by providing companies with a last chance saloon to keep running their ancient applications without any official support for Microsoft, helping them to maintain compliance with various regulations.

What the Windows Server Application Migration program actually does is package legacy applications into Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 containers, which are then run on newer versions of that platform. Customers can choose from the Windows Server 2016, 1709, 1803, and 2019 editions, which can be run on-premises or atop Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services.

The program consists of Docker Professional Services, which essentially means Docker’s experts will do all of the legwork for customers; Docker Application Converter, which is a tool used to automatically seek out which legacy apps can actually be migrated; and Docker Certified Infrastructure, which is a guarantee that the migrated apps will work out of the box.

Docker said the main advantage of this migration tactic is that it’s just a much easier way of doing things all around.

The new Docker release also adds support for Windows Server 1709, 1803 and Windows Server 2019 (the 2016 version was already supported). Other noteworthy updates including support for Kubernetes 1.11 and pod autoscaling.

Image: Docker