To ensure a positive return on investment (ROI) from container deployments, organizations must build a comprehensive business case that evaluates both costs and potential benefits. Key benefits include enhanced developer productivity, which can be measured annually on a per-developer basis. Additionally, an agile continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) environment can be assessed through metrics such as deployment frequency, lead time for changes, release success rates, service restoration times, user satisfaction, talent retention, and overall top-line growth.
Infrastructure efficiency is another advantage, as containers have a smaller resource footprint, allowing for higher tenant density on hosts. This leads to better resource utilization and potential savings on licensing costs for commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software. Reduced operational overhead is also significant, as Kubernetes automates many low-level management tasks, freeing up IT staff time and increasing productivity.
However, organizations must also consider costs, including subscriptions for container as a service (CaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS), infrastructure acquisition and upgrades, staff training, and implementation expenses. These factors are crucial for accurately measuring the ROI of container deployments and ensuring that investments are justified beyond the allure of new technology.