Docker Here, Docker There – I’m Going Back to the Old Ways

You hear it more and more often, half-serious, half-annoyed: “Docker here, Docker there – I’m going back to the old ways.”

And those who say it usually mean: I’m tired of the next big “simplification” that ends up making everything more complicated. Another new tool, new terms, new YAML files. In the past, you just installed software. An apt install, a service start, done.

Today, everyone talks about images, layers, registries, bind mounts, compose files, networks, and orchestration. And sure – it initially seems like more effort.

But: This is not a fad. This is infrastructure evolution. And it has good reasons.

Things Were Simpler Before – But Not Better

In the old world, software installation was an adventure. A developer released their application – you worked through cryptic installation instructions on GitHub, installed a dozen dependencies, set permissions, configured services. Maybe it worked afterward. Maybe not.

Most of the energy didn’t go into operation or performance, but into troubleshooting and adapting to local systems. The result:

• no reproducibility,
• no portability,
• no security through isolation.

A small version update could cripple entire systems. Docker broke this pattern. Instead of “software only runs on my server,” today it’s: “software runs the same everywhere.”

What Docker Actually Solves

Docker doesn’t solve a new problem, but a very old one: How do you reliably get software from one system to another – without everything falling apart?

The answer: Containers.

A container contains everything an application needs to run – from code to dependencies. This means:

• No more “works-only-on-my-machine” moments.
• Clear separation between application and host system.
• Automatable deployments.
• Easy rollback and updates.

And this is not an end in itself. It makes software accessible.

The Unexpected Effect: Democratization of Infrastructure

In our Docker workshops at ayedo, we repeatedly experience the same thing: Many participants come from traditional operations or government structures, not from the DevOps world. And yet – or precisely because of this – they are often the ones who gain the most from containerization.

Why? Because Docker opens up the playing field.

In the past, deploying a new application was an IT project: multiple departments, budget, approvals, test environments, operational concepts.

Today, often all it takes is: an afternoon, a compose file, and someone curious enough to just try it out.

Real-World Example: Initiative That Works

A municipal IT department wanted to provide its citizens with a simple tool for QR code generation – originally planned as an external software project, effort: several weeks and a five-figure budget.

An employee, Docker-savvy from his homelab, found an open-source tool on GitHub (of course on the awesome-selfhosted list) and set it up in a container as a test.

A compose file, a reverse proxy, TLS via Let’s Encrypt – and the application ran stably on internal infrastructure. After a week, the system was productive.

Before: Tendering, provider, maintenance contract.

Now: Initiative, containers, self-operation.

This doesn’t happen rarely. Whether Grafana for monitoring, Paperless-NG for document management, or Pi-hole as an internal DNS filter – everywhere, Docker creates solutions that would have been hardly realizable in the past.

Why “Docker in the Homelab” Is an Underrated Educational Model

Many underestimate what homelabs mean in modern IT education. Those who experiment with Docker privately learn more about system architecture, networks, security, and operations than many formal trainings could ever convey.

We regularly see that these very people become multipliers in companies. They bring production-ready open-source systems into play, show their colleagues how to operate them – and change culture in the process.

Docker is not just a tool. It is a barrier to entry with a built-in reward effect: Once you understand it, you can suddenly operate everything.

The Downside: The Frustration of the First Few Weeks

Of course, the path there is not without pitfalls. Many who are new to Docker initially feel overwhelmed: containers, images, networks – it sounds abstract. But that’s exactly why it’s so important to learn the topic in a structured way.

You need to understand:

• What runs in the container and what doesn’t?
• How do containers communicate with each other?
• How do I handle persistence, logging, and monitoring?
• How do I translate traditional IT logic into container thinking?

Without this understanding, you quickly end up in a mess of “somehow works, but no one knows why.” And that’s the source of much frustration.

Why the Effort Is Worth It

Once you understand the basic principle, the perspective shifts. Suddenly it becomes clear why Docker has so sustainably changed infrastructure: Because it doesn’t bring more complexity – but finally makes the existing complexity visible and manageable.

Containerization forces you to consciously design architecture. It rewards clean design, separation of responsibilities, and automation.

That sounds dry – but it’s the difference between operation and operating.

Docker as a Bridge Between Worlds

Particularly exciting is how Docker has closed the gap between development and operations. In the past, the developer wrote a manual – today they deliver an image. DevOps has become practically tangible:

• Developers can provide reproducible environments.
• Ops teams can operate these in a controlled, secure, and comprehensible manner.

Thus, Docker is more than a tool – it is a shared vocabulary between two professions that have been talking past each other for decades.

Docker and the New Self-Understanding in Operations

For operations managers, Docker changes the perspective. You no longer think in servers, but in services. No longer in installations, but in states. Backup, scaling, deployment – everything becomes definable, comprehensible, reproducible.

That may seem unfamiliar at first, but that’s where the gain lies: Operations finally become plannable.

How Companies and Authorities Benefit

Especially in the public sector and in SMEs, Docker is a door opener. What used to be reserved for large IT service providers is now feasible thanks to containerization: rapid provision of services, secure separation, lower operating costs, and full control over data.

We see this in municipalities, research institutes, universities, and companies: Everywhere initiative arises, new digital services emerge – without months of tenders, without complex procurement processes.

Docker enables digital sovereignty.

And What That Means for Everyday Life

The phrase “I’m going back to the old ways” is understandable. But it ignores that “the old ways” were neither safer nor more efficient. The times when servers were set up monolithically, software was installed manually, and configurations were maintained by hand are over – not because they were bad, but because they no longer scale. Docker forces us to think in systems, not tinker. This is not a step backward, but maturity.

How ayedo Supports

This is exactly where our ayedo Docker workshops come in. We regularly work with IT teams, companies, and authorities who are at this very point: Docker is mentioned everywhere, the first containers are running, but understanding is lacking.

Our workshops convey what containerization really means in everyday life – from an operational perspective. How container architecture works, how to operate it securely, how logging, monitoring, network, and security interplay.

We show how to transfer existing workloads to Docker, integrate CI/CD, and maintain stability. No marketing, no overhead – just real, practical knowledge.

Conclusion: Don’t Be Tired. Stay Curious.

Yes – Docker can be exhausting. But once you understand what containerization enables, you won’t long for the old world of handcrafted installations. Docker is not a trend. It is the foundation of modern infrastructure. And those who make the effort to learn it today will benefit tomorrow from an operation that is stable, reproducible, and scalable. So: don’t get tired. Stay curious.

Thank you, Docker.