Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cloud

    Docker Founder Solomon Hykes Announces Exit from Docker Inc.

    By
    Sean Michael Kerner
    -
    March 28, 2018
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Solomon Hykes Dockercon EU 17

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      In surprise move, Docker Inc. founder Solomon Hykes announced on March 28 that he is leaving the company he created.

      “After 10 years building Docker, now feels like the natural moment to move on,” Hykes wrote in an email to eWEEK. “That’s obviously not an easy decision, but I’m certain that it is the right one for everyone.”

      The company that Hykes is now leaving is a very different one than the one he created back in November 2007, which was originally known as dotCloud. In March 2013, Hykes introduced the world to the open-source Docker project, re-inventing containers and ushering in a new age of cloud native applications.

      The first time I heard of Docker was in September 2013, when I first met Hykes the Linuxcon New Orleans show. I was introduced to Hykes by then Red Hat Fedora project leader Robyn Bergeron, who enlightened me about the potential of Docker.

      “Phase one for us at dotCloud is to make sure Docker is ubiquitous and that larger players in IT are comfortable with it,” Hykes said at the time.

      Docker became popular quickly, with dotCloud rebranding itself as Docker Inc. in October 2013. Docker itself did become ubiquitous and the biggest players in IT, including every major cloud public cloud provider and leading IT vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, Cisco and HPE are all “comfortable” using Docker in 2018.

      According to Docker Inc, there are approximately 3.5 million “Dockerized” container applications and in total, there have been 37 billion container downloads by individuals and companies.  

      Technical Leadership

      Hykes has always been the inspired technical leadership behind Docker, but the company hasn’t been a one-person show in a long time. Docker has thrived due to the inspired technical direction first envisioned by Hykes, an active community of developers that have extended the vision and most importantly a vibrant community of active users.

      Docker is now focused on helping organizations to modernize traditional apps with cloud services and the Docker Enterprise Edition platform.

      The open-source project that once was simply known as “Docker” is now a whole ecosystem of projects and organizations. The idea of a container runtime, which Hykes helped to popularize, is now standardized through the efforts of the Open Container Initiative. The original Docker engine has been dis-aggregated into a series of complementary development efforts, under the banner of the Moby Project. The core container runtime that is at the heart of Docker is now developed as the containerd project, which is hosted by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

      Kubernetes

      Certainly in recent years Kubernetes has become increasingly popular. But let’s not forget that Kubernetes at its’ core is a container orchestration system and until very recently, the only container runtime that anyone could run on Kubernetes was Docker. Docker Inc. and Hykes certainly recognized the need for Docker to embrace Kubernetes as well, which he did in what is now his last Dockercon keynote in October 2017.

      Docker isn’t just the simple idea that Hykes explained to me back in 2013. In 2018 it’s an entire industry. At Docker, Hykes inspired a revolution in the way applications are built, delivered, secured and deployed.

      While Hykes founded the company, he was always most involved in leading the company’s technical efforts and was not particularly interested in being the CEO.  From April 2013 to May 2017 Ben Golub was Docker’s CEO. In May 2017 Steve Singh became the CEO and currently leads the company. Though Hykes is officially leaving Docker Inc.’s day to day operations, he’s not entirely leaving the world of Docker.

      “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved so far and look forward to seeing Steve (Singh) and the team take Docker to new heights,” Hykes wrote to eWEEK. “I’ll be cheering them on as a shareholder, board member and an enthusiastic Docker user.”

      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner is an Internet consultant, strategist, and contributor to several leading IT business web sites.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×