D2iQ, provider of the leading independent Kubernetes platform built to power smarter Day 2 operations, today announced the results from its recent Kubernetes-focused survey of IT decision makers and developers. The "Kubernetes in the Enterprise: Uncovering challenges and opportunities on the path to production" survey report found that 89% of organizations are running Kubernetes in production or pre-production environments. In addition, 77% of organizations feel that Kubernetes is a central part of their pandemic-accelerated digital transformation strategy, but the container orchestration system still introduces challenges, most commonly during the development phase.

The benefits of Kubernetes are unmatched, but the path to adoption isn't always clear. Challenges and complexities increase as developer teams work to keep pace with accelerating market demands. According to the D2iQ study, the most common challenges organizations face when adopting Kubernetes are security concerns (47%), difficulty scaling up effectively (37%) and lack of IT resources (34%). However, the impact of these challenges is not evenly distributed across the enterprise. 78% of developers claim that Kubernetes add-ons cause a great deal of pain and introduce complexity, compared to only 56% of IT decision makers who share the sentiment.

Other key findings from the study include:

• Working with Kubernetes leads to burnout: 38% of developers and architects claim their work makes them feel extremely burnt out, with 51% stating that building cloud native applications makes them want to find a new job
• Organizations are strapped for talent: While 96% of organizations can find Kubernetes talent, 24% say it could take a while to find the right candidate. This explains why 98% of organizations are currently investing or planning to invest in Kubernetes training to fill the talent gap.
• Ongoing pandemic has a disruptive effect on cloud native journeys: 91% of organizations admit COVID-19 has had a disruptive effect on their cloud native journeys - most commonly through budget cuts to development, freezing or slowing down hiring, budget cuts to technology acquisition, and project delays.
  

"Our research uncovers how the complexities of deploying Kubernetes has made it more challenging for many organizations to realize benefits such as increased agility and time-to-value," said Tobi Knaup, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, D2iQ. "However, it's no surprise that organizations still view Kubernetes as a critical part of their digital transformation strategy. With so much at stake, it's never been more critical for organizations to ensure they have the expert resources and proven technologies required to navigate the often complicated journey to Day 2 operations success."

The study was conducted by independent research firm Vanson Bourne in Q2 and Q3 2020.To download a free copy of the 14-page Kubernetes in the Enterprise: Uncovering challenges and opportunities on the path to production survey report, please go to https://d2iq.com/resources/report/kubernetes-in-the-enterprise-uncovering-challenges-and-opportunities