Ever packed a dabba, tingkat, or bento box for lunch? I grew up with one of these multitiered lunchboxes—maybe you did, too. There’s something oddly satisfying about how they organize chaos, isn’t there? Each compartment with its purpose—rice, veggies, pickles—every ingredient in its place.
This reminds me of what we’re doing with containerization in artificial intelligence (AI) today. Simple concept, powerful results. Just as you add or remove tiers from your lunchbox based on your appetite, containerization helps businesses in Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) scale their AI solutions effortlessly. Moving applications across environments becomes as simple as carrying your lunchbox to work.
But here’s the challenge: while many of us grew up with these clever lunch solutions, too many APJ businesses have yet to embrace their technological equivalent. Those ignoring containerisation are essentially trying to transport soup in a paper bag—messy, inefficient, and ultimately unsustainable in today’s AI landscape.
AI’s growing influence, APJ’s opportunity
The explosion in AI presents huge opportunities. Yet there’s a troubling gap. While IDC reports that 3 in 4 APJ organizations acknowledge the vital role of modern cloud architectures, action lags behind awareness.
According to Nutanix’s 2025 Enterprise Cloud Index, half of global businesses have fully containerized their applications. Sixteen percent of APJ organisations also say they are still in the process of containerising their applications, compared to the Americas and EMEA at just 7 percent each. This disparity presents regional organizations, including industry leaders in Singapore, with a significant opportunity. Underestimating the strategic necessity of containerisation puts companies at risk of falling behind.
The business case for this technology becomes increasingly compelling. Containerized AI workload spending has doubled in 5 years. APJ’s container market is projected to reach US$10.7 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 34.4 percent annually.
In our data-driven landscape, containerization isn’t just a choice anymore—it’s becoming the norm for companies serious about AI innovation.
Why containerization is a business imperative
The transformation we’re seeing in AI infrastructure isn’t just technical evolution—it’s about business advantage. Containerization delivers better security, more efficient resource use, faster deployment, and simplified management. For leaders, it’s the difference between streamlined operations and constant inefficiencies.
Global giants demonstrate this value daily. Entertainment streamers like Netflix and Spotify essentially function as digital organisers for vast content libraries. With 300 million subscribers and 675 million listeners, respectively, they depend on containerization to serve content efficiently at scale and enhance user experiences. Netflix even developed Titus, an open-sourced container platform, to support video streaming, recommendations, and machine learning.
The transition requires more than technology; it demands a cultural shift. Think of it as learning to pack that lunchbox efficiently: everyone in the kitchen must work together. By fostering a DevOps approach—where development and operations teams collaborate seamlessly rather than working in silos—organizations create environments primed for containerization success.
Without this mindset change, many APJ businesses will find themselves watching their more agile competitors race ahead in the AI innovation marathon.
Kubernetes for the win
Just as thoughtful meal prep balances flavour, nutrition, and practicality, successful containerisation demands a clear strategy. Here’s your three-step recipe for AI-ready infrastructure:
- Establish a solid Kubernetes foundation. Think of Kubernetes as your master chef, orchestrating everything behind the scenes. It’s become the gold standard for container management, automating deployment and scaling to ensure your infrastructure handles complex AI workloads without breaking a sweat.
- Cultivate a DevOps culture. Remember that kitchen analogy? Containerization thrives when your entire team works in sync. Breaking down silos between development, operations, and platform engineering teams to ensure seamless integration and collaboration is critical. This results in smoother lifecycle management while accelerating your deployment cycles and enhancing flexibility, giving you that competitive edge when market conditions change.
- Embrace continuous monitoring. No good chef serves a dish without tasting it first. Integrate monitoring and analytics tools to ensure security and performance remain top-notch. These real-time insights let you optimise resources and adapt quickly as market demands evolve. This helps keep costs in check while maximising performance.
Karnataka Bank shows this approach in action. Facing digitally-savvy customers in a competitive market, the business turned to containerisation with Kubernetes to meet both operational and regulatory demands. The result? A seamless digital wallet experience that keeps customers coming back. The bank’s success demonstrates that containerisation delivers real business outcomes—not just technical improvements.
The containerization divide: Tomorrow’s winners and followers
Containerization is redrawing competitive lines across entire industries. It’s not just about keeping up anymore—it’s about who gets to play in the AI sandbox at all. The infrastructure choices you make today will determine whether your business shapes markets or finds itself adapting to changes set by others.
Consider what’s at stake. While forward-thinking competitors implement containerized AI applications that adapt, scale, and evolve rapidly, can your organization afford to operate with yesterday’s infrastructure?
Across banking, manufacturing, healthcare, and retail, early APJ adopters are already transforming from traditional players into digital innovators through containerization. Every day that passes without action widens this competitive divide. In 5 years, we’ll look back at this moment as the inflexion point when APJ businesses either seized their AI future or surrendered it. The technical foundation you build today will determine which side of history your organisation stands on.
The choice is clear. Will you pack for the journey ahead?
Daryush Ashjari is the Chief Technology Officer & Vice President – Solution Engineering – Asia Pacific and Japan, Nutanix.
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Featured image: Kevin Ku on Pexels
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