Best On-Premises Container Orchestration Software of 2025

Kasm Workspaces streams your workplace environment directly to your web browser…on any device and from any location. Kasm is revolutionizing the way businesses deliver digital workspaces. We use our open-source web native container streaming technology to create a modern devops delivery of Desktop as a Service, application streaming, and browser isolation. Kasm is more than a service. It is a platform that is highly configurable and has a robust API that can be customized to your needs at any scale. Workspaces can be deployed wherever the work is. It can be deployed on-premise (including Air-Gapped Networks), in the cloud (Public and Private), or in a hybrid.

Kubernetes (K8s) is a powerful open-source platform designed to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of applications that are containerized. By organizing containers into manageable groups, it simplifies the processes of application management and discovery. Drawing from over 15 years of experience in handling production workloads at Google, Kubernetes also incorporates the best practices and innovative ideas from the wider community. Built on the same foundational principles that enable Google to efficiently manage billions of containers weekly, it allows for scaling without necessitating an increase in operational personnel. Whether you are developing locally or operating a large-scale enterprise, Kubernetes adapts to your needs, providing reliable and seamless application delivery regardless of complexity. Moreover, being open-source, Kubernetes offers the flexibility to leverage on-premises, hybrid, or public cloud environments, facilitating easy migration of workloads to the most suitable infrastructure. This adaptability not only enhances operational efficiency but also empowers organizations to respond swiftly to changing demands in their environments.

Appvia Wayfinder provides a dynamic solution to manage your cloud infrastructure. It gives your developers self-service capabilities that let them manage and provision cloud resources without any hitch. Wayfinder's core is its security-first strategy, which is built on principles of least privilege and isolation. You can rest assured that your resources are safe. Platform teams rejoice! Centralised control allows you to guide your team and maintain organisational standards. But it's not just business. Wayfinder provides a single pane for visibility. It gives you a bird's-eye view of your clusters, applications, and resources across all three clouds. Join the leading engineering groups worldwide who rely on Appvia Wayfinder for cloud deployments. Do not let your competitors leave behind you. Watch your team's efficiency and productivity soar when you embrace Wayfinder!

Portainer Business makes managing containers easy. It is designed to be deployed from the data centre to the edge and works with Docker, Swarm and Kubernetes. It is trusted by more than 500K users. With its super-simple GUI and its comprehensive Kube-compatible API, Portainer Business makes it easy for anyone to deploy and manage container-based applications, triage container-related issues, set up automate Git-based workflows and build CaaS environments that end users love to use. Portainer Business works with all K8s distros and can be deployed on prem and/or in the cloud. It is designed to be used in team environments where there are multiple users and multiple clusters. The product incorporates a range of security features - including RBAC, OAuth integration and logging, which makes it suitable for use in large, complex production environments. For platform managers responsible for delivering a self-service CaaS environment, Portainer includes a suite of features that help control what users can / can't do and significantly reduces the risks associated with running containers in prod. Portainer Business is fully supported and includes a comprehensive onboarding experience that ensures you get up and running.

SaltStack is an intelligent IT automation platform that can manage, secure, and optimize any infrastructure--on-prem, in the cloud, or at the edge. It is built on an event-driven automation engine that detects and responds intelligently to any system. This makes it a powerful solution for managing complex environments. SaltStack's new SecOps offering can detect security flaws and mis-configured systems. This powerful automation can detect and fix any issue quickly, allowing you and your team to keep your infrastructure secure, compliant, and up to date. Comply and Protect are both part of the SecOps suite. Comply scans for compliance with CIS, DISA, STIG, NIST and PCI standards. Also, scan your operating system for vulnerabilities and update it with patches and patches.

Ambassador Edge Stack, a Kubernetes-native API Gateway, provides simplicity, security, and scalability for some of the largest Kubernetes infrastructures in the world. Ambassador Edge Stack makes it easy to secure microservices with a complete set of security functionality including automatic TLS, authentication and rate limiting. WAF integration is also available. Fine-grained access control is also possible. The API Gateway is a Kubernetes-based ingress controller that supports a wide range of protocols, including gRPC, gRPC Web, TLS termination, and traffic management controls to ensure resource availability.

You can use your favorite debugging software to locally troubleshoot your Kubernetes services. Telepresence, an open-source tool, allows you to run one service locally and connect it to a remote Kubernetes cluster. Telepresence was initially developed by Ambassador Labs, which creates open-source development tools for Kubernetes such as Ambassador and Forge. We welcome all contributions from the community. You can help us by submitting an issue, pull request or reporting a bug. Join our active Slack group to ask questions or inquire about paid support plans. Telepresence is currently under active development. Register to receive updates and announcements. You can quickly debug locally without waiting for a container to be built/push/deployed. Ability to use their favorite local tools such as debugger, IDE, etc. Ability to run large-scale programs that aren't possible locally.

Platform9 Private Cloud Director turns existing servers and storage into a fully featured private cloud. It provides a fast and efficient method for organizations to migrate away from VMware, with minimal disruption. Enterprise IT teams get a familiar virtualization management experience and a true drop-in replacement for VMware vSphere features, offering all critical enterprise features out of the box: Virtual Machine (VM) High Availability, live migration (vMotion equivalent), Dynamic Resource Rebalancing (VMware DRS equivalent), VM cloning, snapshots, templates, software-defined networking, and secure multi-tenancy. Unlike other solutions that may require proprietary hyperconverged infrastructure or re-platforming to Kubernetes, Private Cloud Director works with existing environments—including servers from Dell, HPE, Lenovo, and storage systems from NetApp, Tintri, Pure Storage, and more. Private Cloud Director can be deployed as a fully self-managed solution, a SaaS-managed service, or in air-gapped environments, giving IT teams complete control over their operating model. With Platform9’s free vJailbreak tool, enterprises can perform automated migrations of entire VMware vSphere clusters to Private Cloud Director—including complex VM configurations, multiple datastores, and advanced network policies—at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional approaches. Private Cloud Director supports both VMs and container workloads on a single unified platform, enabling a gradual transition to cloud-native architecture without disrupting current operations. Private Cloud Director can be deployed flexibly as a fully self-managed solution, a SaaS-managed service, or in air-gapped environments.

JFrog Pipelines enables software development teams to accelerate the delivery of updates by automating their DevOps workflows in a secure and efficient manner across all tools and teams involved. It incorporates functions such as continuous integration (CI), continuous delivery (CD), and infrastructure management, automating the entire journey from code development to production deployment. This solution is seamlessly integrated with the JFrog Platform and is offered in both cloud-based and on-premises subscription models. It can scale horizontally, providing a centralized management system capable of handling thousands of users and pipelines within a high-availability (HA) setup. With pre-built declarative steps that require no scripting, users can easily construct intricate pipelines, including those that link multiple teams together. Furthermore, it works in conjunction with a wide array of DevOps tools, and the various steps within a single pipeline can operate on diverse operating systems and architectures, thus minimizing the necessity for multiple CI/CD solutions. This versatility makes JFrog Pipelines a powerful asset for teams aiming to enhance their software delivery processes.

Harpoon is an intuitive drag-and-drop tool designed for Kubernetes that allows users to deploy software within seconds. Whether you are just starting your journey with Kubernetes or seeking an efficient way to master it, Harpoon equips you with all the necessary features for effective deployment and configuration of your applications using this leading container orchestration platform, all without writing any code. The platform's visual interface makes it accessible for anyone to launch production-ready software effortlessly. You can easily manage simple or advanced enterprise-level cloud deployments, enabling you to deploy and configure software while autoscaling Kubernetes without the need for code or configuration scripts. With a single click, you can swiftly search for and find any commercial or open-source software available and deploy it to the cloud. Moreover, before launching any applications or services, Harpoon conducts automated security scripts to safeguard your cloud provider account. You can seamlessly connect Harpoon to your source code repository from anywhere and establish an automated deployment pipeline, ensuring a smooth development workflow. This streamlined process not only saves time but also enhances productivity, making Harpoon an essential tool for developers.

D2iQ Enterprise Kubernetes Platform (DKP) Enterprise Kubernetes Platform: Run Kubernetes Workloads at Scale D2iQ Kubernetes Platform (DKP): Adopt, expand, and enable advanced workloads across any infrastructure, whether on-prem, on the cloud, in air-gapped environments, or at the edge. Solve the Toughest Enterprise Kubernetes Challenges Accelerate the journey to production at scale, DKP provides a single, centralized point of control to build, run, and manage applications across any infrastructure. * Enable Day 2 Readiness Out-of-the-Box Without Lock-In * Simplify and Accelerate Kubernetes Adoption * Ensure Consistency, Security, and Performance * Expand Kubernetes Across Distributed Environments * Ensure Fast, Simple Deployment of ML and Fast Data Pipeline * Leverage Cloud Native Expertise

IBM Cloud® Kubernetes Service offers a certified and managed Kubernetes platform designed for the deployment and management of containerized applications on IBM Cloud®. This service includes features like intelligent scheduling, self-healing capabilities, and horizontal scaling, all while ensuring secure management of the necessary resources for rapid deployment, updating, and scaling of applications. By handling the master management, IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service liberates users from the responsibilities of overseeing the host operating system, the container runtime, and the updates for the Kubernetes version. This allows developers to focus more on building and innovating their applications rather than getting bogged down by infrastructure management. Furthermore, the service’s robust architecture promotes efficient resource utilization, enhancing overall performance and reliability.

A versatile and straightforward workload orchestrator designed to deploy and oversee both containerized and non-containerized applications seamlessly across on-premises and cloud environments at scale. This efficient tool comes as a single 35MB binary that effortlessly fits into your existing infrastructure. It provides an easy operational experience whether on-prem or in the cloud, maintaining minimal overhead. Capable of orchestrating various types of applications—not limited to just containers—it offers top-notch support for Docker, Windows, Java, VMs, and more. By introducing orchestration advantages, it helps enhance existing services. Users can achieve zero downtime deployments, increased resilience, and improved resource utilization without the need for containerization. A single command allows for multi-region, multi-cloud federation, enabling global application deployment to any region using Nomad as a cohesive control plane. This results in a streamlined workflow for deploying applications to either bare metal or cloud environments. Additionally, Nomad facilitates the development of multi-cloud applications with remarkable ease and integrates smoothly with Terraform, Consul, and Vault for efficient provisioning, service networking, and secrets management, making it an indispensable tool in modern application management.

Ridge is a flexible cloud that’s anywhere you need to be. Through one API, Ridge converts any underlying infrastructure into a cloud-native platform. Whether you need to deploy in a private data center, on-prem server, edge micro-center, or even in an multi-facility hybrid environment, Ridge expands your footprint without limits.

An entirely automated DevOps platform designed for the seamless distribution of reliable software releases from development to production. Expedite the onboarding of DevOps initiatives by managing users, resources, and permissions to enhance deployment velocity. Confidently implement updates by proactively detecting open-source vulnerabilities and ensuring compliance with licensing regulations. Maintain uninterrupted operations throughout your DevOps process with High Availability and active/active clustering tailored for enterprises. Seamlessly manage your DevOps ecosystem using pre-built native integrations and those from third-party providers. Fully equipped for enterprise use, it offers flexibility in deployment options, including on-premises, cloud, multi-cloud, or hybrid solutions that can scale alongside your organization. Enhance the speed, dependability, and security of software updates and device management for IoT applications on a large scale. Initiate new DevOps projects within minutes while easily integrating team members, managing resources, and establishing storage limits, enabling quicker coding and collaboration. This comprehensive platform empowers your team to focus on innovation without the constraints of traditional deployment challenges.

It is the only Kubernetes distribution which is simple, solid, and certified. It works on any infrastructure, including bare metal, on-premises or private clouds, edge, IoT or public clouds. It's free and open source. Zero Friction – k0s dramatically reduces the complexity involved in installing and running Kubernetes. Bootstrapping new kube clusters takes only minutes. Developer friction is zero, making it easy for anyone to get started, even if they don't have any special skills. Zero Deps: k0s comes as a single binary that has no host OS dependencies other than the kernel of the host OS. It works with any OS without additional software packages. Any security vulnerabilities or performance problems can be fixed directly within the k0s Distribution. Zero Cost - K0s is free for commercial or personal use and will always be. The source code can be found on GitHub, under Apache 2 license.

Originating from the dynamic city of Rotterdam, known for its penchant for innovation, OneCloud emerged to tackle the numerous challenges developers encountered while creating web applications using conventional hosting and cloud infrastructures. Our journey was sparked by a profound ambition to transform and enhance the landscape of cloud development. At OneCloud, we are dedicated to equipping developers with an advanced Kubernetes cloud platform, which provides them with essential tools to reclaim command over their web application creation. Our mission is to remove barriers and simplify the development process, allowing developers to focus on their creativity and innovative ideas. By choosing OneCloud, you are not merely accessing a cloud platform; you are also partnering with a dependable technology ally and a supportive team that you can consistently count on. We invite you to collaborate with us as we redefine the cloud development landscape, unlocking the full potential of the Cloud and innovating the methods of constructing and launching web applications. Together, we can pave the way for a new era in development practices.

Joyent offers a Single Tenant Public Cloud that combines the robust security, cost efficiency, and management capabilities of a private cloud. This service is entirely managed by Joyent, ensuring that users have complete control over their private cloud environment, along with comprehensive installation, onboarding, and support services. Customers can opt for either open-source or commercial assistance for their on-premises, user-managed private clouds. The infrastructure is designed to efficiently deliver virtual machines, containers, and bare metal resources, while being capable of handling workloads at an exabyte scale. Joyent’s engineering team provides extensive support for contemporary application frameworks, including microservices, APIs, development tools, and container-native DevOps practices. Triton is a hybrid, modern, and open solution specifically optimized to host the most substantial cloud-native applications. With Joyent, users can expect not only cutting-edge technology but also a partnership that supports their long-term growth and innovation.

IBM Cloud Pak® for Applications facilitates the modernization of current applications, integrates enhanced security features, and enables the creation of new applications that drive digital transformation. This platform provides cloud-native development tools that swiftly generate value, coupled with adaptable licensing options designed to meet your unique requirements. Whether deployed on public clouds, on-premises, or within a private cloud, you can operate your applications in the environment that best suits your business needs. We offer resources to align them with Red Hat® OpenShift® on IBM Cloud®, a cohesive Kubernetes platform founded on open-source principles, ensuring support regardless of their deployment location. Transitioning to the cloud does not necessitate starting from scratch; rather, it allows for the modernization of legacy applications, enhancing their flexibility and scalability. Additionally, you will receive an assessment of your applications, complete with prioritized recommendations for modernization, guiding you on the path to effective transformation. By leveraging these insights, you can create a more agile and responsive IT infrastructure, ultimately driving greater business success.

Kubernetes can be run in production using the #1 Kubernetes platform. It offers persistent storage, backup, data security, capacity management, and DR. You can easily backup, restore, and migrate Kubernetes applications to any cloud or data centre. Portworx Enterprise Storage Platform provides end-to-end storage, data management, and security for all Kubernetes projects. This includes container-based CaaS and DBaaS as well as SaaS and Disaster Recovery. Container-granular storage, disaster recovery and data security will all be available to your apps. Multi-cloud migrations are also possible. You can easily solve enterprise requirements for Kubernetes data service. Your users can easily access a cloud-like DbaaS without losing control. Operational complexity is eliminated by scaling the backend data services that power your SaaS app. With a single command, add DR to any Kubernetes application. All your Kubernetes apps can be easily backed up and restored.

UbiOps serves as a robust AI infrastructure platform designed to enable teams to efficiently execute their AI and ML workloads as dependable and secure microservices, all while maintaining their current workflows. In just a few minutes, you can integrate UbiOps effortlessly into your data science environment, thereby eliminating the tedious task of establishing and overseeing costly cloud infrastructure. Whether you're a start-up aiming to develop an AI product or part of a larger organization's data science unit, UbiOps provides a solid foundation for any AI or ML service you wish to implement. The platform allows you to scale your AI workloads in response to usage patterns, ensuring you only pay for what you use without incurring costs for time spent idle. Additionally, it accelerates both model training and inference by offering immediate access to powerful GPUs, complemented by serverless, multi-cloud workload distribution that enhances operational efficiency. By choosing UbiOps, teams can focus on innovation rather than infrastructure management, paving the way for groundbreaking AI solutions.