Mirantis Inc. plans to describe the latest chapter in its journey along the Docker, Kubernetes and developer community path on September 16, when it will unveil Docker Enterprise Container Cloud as part of the Launchpad 2020 virtual event.

“Every word in the product name is important,” said Dave Van Everen, senior vice president of marketing at Mirantis, who spoke with Jeff Frick, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, in advance of theCUBE’s coverage of Mirantis Launchpad 2020. “The new word in there really is cloud. People are going to be surprised at the groundbreaking territory that we’re forging with this release along the lines of the cloud experience.”

TheCUBE will be broadcasting interviews on September 16 with Mirantis executives and key industry leaders during the event. Discussion topics include details on the latest product releases, insight into Mirantis’ plans for building on its recent acquisitions of Docker Enterprise and the popular Kubernetes integrated developer environment Lens, the company’s focus on container management technology, and initiatives to increase engagement with the developer community. (* Disclosure below.) 

Watch the complete video with Dave Van Everen below:

Fastest way to build apps

Since it began contributing to OpenStack in 2011, Mirantis has evolved along with much of the cloud native application ecosystem. The company has executed a series of pivots in recent years, moving from OpenStack to embrace Kubernetes and the growing ecosystem of technologies and communities surrounding it.

Much of Mirantis’ focus has been on containerization, an area that experienced a steep rise in enterprise adoption. Recent survey data from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation showed that cloud native projects used in enterprise production continue to grow, with Kubernetes leading the way. The CNCF survey found that 84% of respondents were using containers in production.

Mirantis has made three significant moves in the past year. It bought Docker Inc.’s enterprise business in November, added the cloud container services company Kontena in February, and then acquired Kontena’s Lens desktop application last month. Lens is an integrated development environment or IDE for Kubernetes.

“The mission of Mirantis is very simple: We want to be — for the enterprise — the fastest way to build modern apps at scale,” said Adrian Ionel, chief executive officer of Mirantis, during an interview in August. “We believe that enterprises are constantly undergoing this cycle of modernizing the way they build applications from one wave to the next — and we want to provide products to the enterprise that help them make that happen.”

Easier Kubernetes management

Improving the speed of app development also means removing complexity. Kubernetes can be challenging to use, a fact conceded by one of its original developers.

Mirantis’ interest in Lens undoubtedly stems from the tool’s ability to provide a single, unified interface for developers with multi-cluster Kubernetes management capabilities that work across cloud platforms.

“This is the first step in an ongoing launch of technologies that are going to make Kubernetes easier for developers,” Van Everen said. “Kubernetes can be difficult for the broader development community, and we’re going to provide a lot of ways for them to be more empowered with Kubernetes while at the same time lowering the barrier of entry. This is a strategic underpinning of our product strategy.”

Making life easier for developers means that developers are more likely to use Mirantis products. While the acquisition of Docker’s enterprise technology gave Mirantis access to one-third of Fortune 100 and one-fifth of Global 500 companies, the real payoff was the developer community within that customer base. The acquisition of Lens added 35,000 users and 7,000 GitHub stargazers. This is a constituency that Mirantis clearly wants to expand.

“There is another piece of the story that’s always been going through our minds,” said Ionel last year. “Which is, how do we become more developer-centric and developer-focused, because, as we’ve all seen in the past 10 years, developers have become more and more in charge of what services and infrastructure they’re actually using.”

In May, Mirantis rolled out its first major update for Docker Enterprise, Version 3.1. The release included updated support for Kubernetes on Windows, Nvidia GPU integration, new tools for deploying clusters using Docker Engine, and an enhancement geared for the service mesh technology Istio Ingress. The update four months ago was the first major release of Docker Enterprise produced exclusively by Mirantis, according to Van Everen, and it set the stage for additional solutions planned for announcement this month.

“It will, for the first time, include Kubernetes-related and lifecycle management-related technology from Mirantis,” Van Everen said. “It’s a huge milestone for our company and a huge benefit to our customers and the broader user community around Docker Enterprise.”

Livestream of Mirantis Launchpad 2020

Mirantis Launchpad 2020  is a livestream event with additional interviews to be broadcast on theCUBE. You can register for free here to access the live coverage. You can also watch it on demand on theCUBE’s dedicated page and YouTube channel. (* Disclosure below.)

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch the live coverage of Mirantis Launchpad 2020 digital event, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube channel. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s events on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE Insights podcast

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify, which you can enjoy while on the go.

Guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE during the Mirantis Launchpad 2020 digital event

Stay tuned for the complete Mirantis Launchpad 2020 list of guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE.

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Mirantis Launchpad 2020 digital event. Neither Mirantis Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: Mirantis Inc.