Launching a Docker container takes only a single line of code, but as the number of instances in an environment starts adding up, managing them becomes a much more difficult ordeal. Microsoft Corp. now hopes to take some complexity out of the task for its customers.

The company today introduced Azure Container Instances, a service that makes using Docker in the cloud about as straightforward as on a local machine. It joins the Azure Container Service that Microsoft offers for companies looking to set up large production deployments. Whereas the latter product offers full control over the underlying hardware resources, ACI automates administration and lets developers focus on their code.

Users can spin up an Azure Container Instance in seconds with the exact amount of memory and processing power that they require. From there, the container is billed by the second, which means that it can be shut down as soon as it’s no longer needed without a cost penalty.

One of the main uses that Microsoft sees for ACI is supporting services that experience large fluctuations in usage. This is facilitated by a complementary connector for Kubernetes, the popular open-source container orchestration framework created by Google. Applications that are managed using the tool can quickly spin up extra Azure Container Instances when demand rises without having to perform the operational heavy lifting that would normally be involved in the task.

Since most modern web services require the ability to handle such usage spikes, there should a sizable market for the service. ACI should also appeal to developers who are working on small projects or just starting out with Docker and wish to avoid getting bogged down in infrastructure management.

As a result, the service will put Microsoft in a better position to compete with Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services Inc. over the fast-growing number of cloud users adopting Docker. The two providers both have rival container services that offer varying degrees of infrastructure automation.

“Containers are becoming the de-facto building block for modern applications,” said Stu Miniman, a senior analyst with Wikibon, owned by the same company as SiliconANGLE. “Microsoft has moved rapidly not only support Linux containers, but also to integrate containers into Windows. With ACI, Microsoft is making containers and Kubernetes a first class citizen, enabling the agility and pricing strategies that will lead to faster adoption of this already hot trend.”

Azure Container Instances is currently available in preview. Microsoft unveiled the offering in conjunction with its induction into the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, the industry body that oversees the development of Kubernetes and many other popular open-source tools.

Image: Microsoft