What the 2016 Cloud Survey Reveals About DevOps and Docker Adoption

Background

In January 2016 RightScale conducted its annual cloud computing state survey, questioning technical experts across typical organizations about cloud architecture usage. The results were published on February 9, 2016, alongside a study of DevOps and DevOps tools (including Docker).

Respondent Analysis

The 1,060 respondents ranged from technical leads to managers, representing organizations of various sizes and industries, including both RightScale users (17%) and non‑users (83%). Their feedback provides a comprehensive view of the current cloud landscape.

Key demographic charts:

Key Findings

1. DevOps usage is growing, especially in enterprises

Within 12 months after the previous survey, DevOps adoption rose sharply:

74% of respondents now use DevOps (up from 66% a year earlier).

In 2016, 81% of enterprises and 70% of SMBs reported using DevOps.

Adoption across organizational layers:

31% of businesses apply DevOps in the business department.

29% apply it in projects/teams (the most likely area).

Only 21% apply DevOps at the company‑wide level.

2. Docker usage doubled; Chef and Puppet remain dominant

In 2016, DevOps tool usage increased noticeably. Chef and Puppet each held a 32% adoption rate (up from 28% and 24% in 2015). Docker’s adoption more than doubled, rising from 13% to 27%.

Ansible also grew strongly, from 10% to 20%.

Cluster management tools lag behind Docker, with Kubernetes at 7% and Docker Swarm at 6%.

Enterprise‑level tool usage:

Puppet: 42%

Chef: 37%

Docker: 29% (38% plan to adopt).

When current and planned usage are combined, Docker leads with 67% adoption, followed by Puppet (61%) and Chef (57%). Ansible showed the highest growth rate, jumping from 8% to 23%.

SMB tool usage (current vs. planned):

Docker: 59% (current+planned)

Chef: 46%

Puppet: 43%

3. DevOps users often employ multiple tools

43% of companies use configuration tools (Chef, Puppet, Ansible, Salt). Among them:

25% use two or more configuration tools.

18% use only one.

Chef and Puppet are frequently combined: 67% of Chef users also use Puppet, and vice‑versa.

Docker rarely replaces other tools; 80% of Docker users also use at least one other configuration tool. 45% of Chef users and 43% of Puppet users also use Docker.

4. Container adoption is maturing, especially in enterprises

Overall, 26% of respondents run workloads in containers (8% development, 18% production). 36% are trying containers, and 25% are learning about them.

Among enterprises, 29% already run workloads in containers (8% development, 21% production). Only 8% have no plans for Docker.

5. Docker is most widely used in European tech companies and enterprises

Top user groups: tech companies (32%), enterprises (29%), developers (28%).

Europe leads Docker usage (34%); Asia shows the highest planned adoption (25% using, 42% planning).

6. Interest in running containers on bare metal is growing

Containers are mainly deployed on VMs (29%); bare‑metal deployment is at 12%, but 24% plan to move containers to bare metal.

Common host OS choices:

Ubuntu (43%)

CentOS (39%)

Red Hat (37%)

CoreOS (12%)

CoreOS is the most widely used lightweight OS designed for containers, though it still trails top providers.

7. The biggest challenge for containers is lack of hands‑on experience

Overall container challenges (all respondents):

Lack of practical experience (67%)

Immaturity of technology (62%)

Management/monitoring difficulty (59%)

Security concerns (57%)

For current container users, top challenges are security (29%), technology immaturity (29%), and lack of experience (25%). For non‑users, lack of experience is the biggest barrier (39%).

8. 2016 focus for containers: education and practice

In 2016, the most needed actions for containers were education (62%), followed by more practice in development/testing (44%) and production (28%).

Conclusion: DevOps Adoption Is Gaining Traction

The 2016 cloud state report shows rising interest in DevOps and widespread Docker adoption. Enterprises are leading Docker’s growth, outpacing smaller organizations. Chef and Puppet remain the most popular DevOps tools, with Docker rapidly catching up. Organizations tend to use multiple tools rather than a single solution, and many Docker users also employ other configuration tools.

Predictions that Docker on bare metal could threaten virtualization vendors have not yet materialized, but the trend suggests future growth in bare‑metal container deployments. Traditional Linux distributions remain dominant, yet lightweight OSes like CoreOS are gaining market share.

Europe leads Docker usage, while Asia shows strong growth potential. Companies feel pressure to acquire Docker expertise, and the primary barrier remains lack of practical experience, underscoring the 2016 emphasis on container education and hands‑on practice.