What OpenShift does

Red Hat OpenShift is an enterprise Kubernetes-based container application platform that enables organizations to build, modernize, and deploy applications at scale across hybrid cloud environments. It originated as an open-source project (OpenShift Origin) and is now part of Red Hat, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of IBM since the July 2019 acquisition for approximately $34 billion. The platform is delivered through two parallel structures: four managed cloud service editions jointly operated with AWS (ROSA), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud (OpenShift Dedicated), and IBM Cloud; and four self-managed editions tiered by capability — OpenShift Kubernetes Engine (entry-level), OpenShift Container Platform (standard), OpenShift Platform Plus (advanced with multicluster security and management), and OpenShift Virtualization Engine (VM-only workloads). The core Kubernetes distribution is extended by a portfolio of add-on modules covering GitOps (Argo CD-based), Pipelines (Tekton-based), Serverless (Knative-based), Service Mesh, Advanced Cluster Management, Advanced Cluster Security, Quay container registry, Observability, the Advanced Developer Suite, and the OpenShift AI and OpenShift Lightspeed AI infrastructure services.

The platform generates revenue primarily through enterprise subscription licensing, available as annual or multi-year contracts for self-managed editions and as pay-as-you-go or committed spend through hyperscaler marketplaces for managed editions. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales, the Red Hat Partner Connect ecosystem of resellers, system integrators, and consulting partners, and product-led growth through developer sandboxes, free trials, interactive labs, Red Hat Academy, and formal certification programs (RHCSA, RHCA, Red Hat Certified OpenShift Administrator). Named enterprise customers span telecommunications (Orange, supporting network softwarization), financial services (Employers Insurance Group), energy and public sector (EJIE for AI-powered language translation), and media and entertainment (DNEG for VFX production). Red Hat has been recognized as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Container Management for the third consecutive year and as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud-native Application Platforms. Financial results for OpenShift are not separately disclosed because Red Hat, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IBM; revenue is reported within IBM's consolidated Hybrid Cloud segment rather than as standalone figures.

Name

OpenShift

Legal name

Red Hat, Inc.

Website

https://openshift.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Red Hat OpenShift is an enterprise Kubernetes-based container application platform offering hybrid cloud development, modernization, and deployment via managed cloud services on all four hyperscalers and tiered self-managed editions. It serves large organizations across telecom, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and media verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Container Application Platform

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed Application Platforms (App PaaS & Runtime Services) (HDABAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Cloud Platforms (On‑Prem Cloud Stacks) (HDABABAA), Kubernetes & Container Platform Management (Private Cloud) (HDABABAC), Platform Engineering & Internal Developer Platforms (IDP) for Compute (HDABADAI), Cloud-Native Enablement (Containers, Kubernetes, Service Mesh) (BPAEAKAE)

Keywords

• Kubernetes container platform
• Hybrid cloud applications
• Application modernization services
• Cloud-native development
• Enterprise container orchestration

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Subscription Licensing: Red Hat OpenShift operates on a subscription-based model where customers pay for access to the platform, support, and updates. Available as managed cloud services (pay-as-you-go or committed spend) or self-managed editions with annual or multi-year contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Red Hat OpenShift is an enterprise Kubernetes-based container application platform that enables organizations to build, modernize, and deploy applications at scale across hybrid cloud environments (on-premises, public clouds, and edge). It is offered as fully managed cloud services through AWS (ROSA), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and IBM Cloud, as well as self-managed subscription editions tiered by capability (OpenShift Kubernetes Engine, Container Platform, Platform Plus, and Virtualization Engine). The platform is extended with proprietary enterprise capabilities including GitOps, CI/CD Pipelines, Serverless, Service Mesh, AI/ML model lifecycle management (OpenShift AI), virtualization, container registry (Quay), multicluster management, and security.

Product overview

Red Hat OpenShift is a platform-plus-modules architecture providing a trusted and consistent application platform for developing, modernizing, and deploying applications at scale. The platform offers multiple deployment options: four managed cloud service editions (ROSA on AWS, Azure Red Hat OpenShift, OpenShift Dedicated on GCP/AWS, and OpenShift on IBM Cloud) and four self-managed editions tiered by capability (OpenShift Platform Plus for advanced multicluster security, OpenShift Container Platform for standard operations, OpenShift Kubernetes Engine for entry-level Kubernetes, and OpenShift Virtualization Engine for VM-only workloads). The platform extends through a portfolio of add-on modules including OpenShift AI for building and deploying AI/ML models, OpenShift Lightspeed for AI infrastructure, virtualization and container registry capabilities, cluster management and security tools, developer experience tools (GitOps, Pipelines, Serverless, Service Mesh, Observability), and the Advanced Developer Suite. Consulting services round out the offering for implementation support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform: A full set of operations and developer services and tools for containerized application deployment.
• Red Hat OpenShift Platform Plus
• Red Hat OpenShift Kubernetes Engine
• Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine
• Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA)
• Microsoft Azure Red Hat OpenShift
• Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated
• Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud
• Red Hat OpenShift AI
• Red Hat OpenShift Lightspeed
• Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization
• Red Hat Quay
• OpenShift GitOps
• OpenShift Pipelines
• OpenShift Serverless
• OpenShift Service Mesh
• Red Hat Advanced Developer Suite

Products and services

• Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform Standard-tier self-managed edition providing a complete platform with developer and operations services and tools for developing, operating, and modernizing applications.
• Red Hat OpenShift Platform Plus Advanced-tier self-managed edition providing a complete suite with multicluster security and management capabilities for building and scaling applications across environments.
• Red Hat OpenShift Kubernetes Engine Entry-level self-managed edition providing an enterprise Kubernetes runtime for container orchestration and management.
• Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine Streamlined self-managed edition focused exclusively on virtual machine workloads, providing a cost-effective solution to migrate, deploy, manage, and scale VMs.
• Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA) Fully managed turnkey application platform jointly managed and supported by Red Hat and AWS, allowing organizations to build, deploy, and scale applications in a native AWS environment.
• Microsoft Azure Red Hat OpenShift Fully managed turnkey application platform providing highly available OpenShift clusters on demand, jointly managed and supported by Red Hat and Microsoft.
• Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated Managed OpenShift offering available on AWS or Google Cloud, providing fully managed clusters with self-service sign-up and provisioning.
• Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud Managed OpenShift offering jointly supported by Red Hat and IBM, with IBM handling cluster management on IBM Cloud infrastructure.
• Red Hat OpenShift AI AI/ML platform for developing, training, and deploying predictive and generative AI models at scale across hybrid cloud environments.
• Red Hat OpenShift Lightspeed Specialized AI infrastructure service for building, training, and deploying AI models on OpenShift with AI-powered operational intelligence.
• Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Virtualization capability for managing traditional virtual machines alongside containerized workloads on OpenShift.
• Red Hat Quay Container registry for storing, distributing, and managing container images across the application lifecycle.
• Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes Multicluster management solution for managing Kubernetes clusters across hybrid cloud environments.
• Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes Security solution for hardening Kubernetes clusters, providing vulnerability scanning, compliance monitoring, and threat detection.
• Red Hat Advanced Developer Suite Collection of components and tools to improve developer experience, strengthen software supply chain, simplify modernization, and deliver results faster on OpenShift.
• Red Hat OpenShift Observability Real-time monitoring and analytics capability for analyzing systems and troubleshooting issues before they impact applications or end users.
• Red Hat OpenShift Consulting Professional consulting services for cloud-native development and OpenShift implementation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Red Hat named Leader in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Container Management for third consecutive year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAWS is a strategic cloud provider partner offering Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA), a jointly managed and supported service. AWS provides the cloud infrastructure while Red Hat delivers the OpenShift platform, enabling customers to use committed AWS spend on Red Hat subscriptions.
• Microsoft AzurecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMicrosoft Azure Red Hat OpenShift is a jointly managed turnkey application platform providing highly available, fully managed OpenShift clusters on demand through Azure Marketplace. Red Hat and Microsoft jointly support customers.
• Google CloudcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGoogle Cloud hosts Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated, a managed offering available on Google Cloud Platform with self-service sign-up and cluster provisioning. Jointly supported by Red Hat and Google.
• IBM CloudcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRed Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud is jointly supported by Red Hat and IBM, with IBM managing the service. Available through IBM Cloud marketplace, targeting enterprises already invested in IBM Cloud infrastructure.
• OrangestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrange collaborates with Red Hat on network softwarization strategy and services for business and wholesale customers. The partnership focuses on achieving flexibility and programmability objectives for telecommunications services. Jean Louis Le Roux stated: 'We've been collaborating with Red Hat in recent years on our extensive and successful network softwarization strategy.'

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Amazon EKS / EKS Anywhere: AWS's managed Kubernetes service (EKS) and on-prem extension (EKS Anywhere) directly compete with ROSA and self-managed OpenShift for AWS-centric customers. EKS Anywhere specifically targets the same hybrid enterprise Kubernetes use case as OpenShift.
• Microsoft AKS / AKS Hybrid: Azure Kubernetes Service and AKS Hybrid compete head-to-head with Azure Red Hat OpenShift and self-managed OpenShift for Azure-centric enterprise workloads, with deep integration into Microsoft's broader cloud and developer ecosystem.
• Rancher (SUSE): SUSE's Rancher portfolio offers multi-cluster Kubernetes management and an enterprise Kubernetes distribution (RKE2, K3s) that competes with OpenShift's Kubernetes Engine and Advanced Cluster Management. Both serve enterprises needing consistent Kubernetes across hybrid environments.
• Canonical (Charmed Kubernetes / MicroK8s): Canonical provides enterprise Kubernetes distributions (Charmed Kubernetes, MicroK8s) and multi-cloud operations tooling that overlap with OpenShift's Kubernetes Engine and self-managed tiers, particularly in telco and edge deployments.
• VMware Tanzu (Broadcom): Broadcom's enterprise Kubernetes and application platform portfolio (formerly Pivotal/VMware Tanzu) competes directly with OpenShift across application platform, Spring runtime, and Kubernetes management. Both target large enterprises modernizing applications and migrating VMs.
• Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE): Google's managed Kubernetes service competes with OpenShift Dedicated on GCP and self-managed OpenShift for cloud-native workloads. GKE is widely regarded as the most upstream-compatible managed Kubernetes and is the default for many Google Cloud customers.

Broad incumbents

• HashiCorp (Nomad, Consul, Vault): HashiCorp's Nomad competes with Kubernetes/OpenShift for workload orchestration, while Consul and Vault overlap with OpenShift Service Mesh and security add-ons. HashiCorp (now IBM-owned) targets adjacent enterprise infrastructure modernization use cases.
• Cloud Foundry: Cloud Foundry is an open-source application platform (PaaS) that historically competed with early OpenShift. While adoption has declined, it remains a reference point for enterprise PaaS and application runtime modernization.

Emerging players

• Portainer: Portainer provides lightweight Kubernetes and container management UI/platform that overlaps with portions of OpenShift's developer experience and management tooling, primarily serving mid-market and developer-led adoption rather than large enterprises.
• Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP): Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (formerly Nutanix Karbon) provides enterprise Kubernetes management integrated with Nutanix infrastructure, overlapping with OpenShift on hybrid deployments and VM-to-container modernization for Nutanix customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/openshift
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/RedHatVideos
• Facebookfacebook.com/openshift
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/red-hat
• Instagraminstagram.com/red_hat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OpenShift