Add data backup specialist Asigra to the rapidly expanding ecosystem surrounding Docker, the buzzed-about, open-source virtualization technology.

Asigra Cloud Backup now supports Docker support, earning the Toronto-based company the distinction of being the first to offer enterprise-grade cloud data protection for Docker containers, according to Asigra’s executive vice president, Eran Farajun. To date, no “enterprise backup and recovery vendor that has made a position around containerization,” he told InfoStor. Asigra’s embrace of the increasingly popular technology represents an “industry first,” he added.

In just under two years, the Docker has exploded onto the IT scene due to its novel spin on virtualized application delivery. Whereas each virtual machine on VMware ESX, Microsoft Hyper-V, Xen and Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) require its own operating system (OS), Docker needs just a single host operating system to serve up applications in within its lightweight containers.

This approach enables a single OS, typically Linux, to accommodate several Docker containers and enable IT organizations to maximize their server investments. Docker has quickly gained industry support. Amazon, Google, IBM, Microsoft and Red Hat have all thrown their hat into the ring.

Last month, GroundWork announced the open source BoxSpy project for Docker container monitoring. Also in December, IBM partnered with Docker to launch a container service to help enterprises build and run new cloud-enabled applications more efficiently.

Now, Asigra is addressing the data protection part of the equation by being the first out of the gate with a Docker-friendly backup and recovery solution.

Farajun agrees that Docker is gaining steam, “especially [among] enterprises that normally develop their own applications,” he said. Docker’s lightweight requirements and portability make it possible for organizations to populate their existing server infrastructures with more applications and move them fairly seamlessly between on-premise hardware and the cloud.

Asigra’s platform-agnostic, cloud backup platform’s agentless technology aligns with Docker’s low-overhead approach, giving the company an edge. “You can’t really install an agent inside the container so well,” he said.

“Our technology is a very nice fit, a natural extension,” added Farajun.

“While Amazon and Microsoft Azure both support Docker containers there has been no backup solution for these and other environments leveraging the platform,” said Asigra CEO David Farajun. “That changes today with our support of Docker and signifies another technology innovation that enables Asigra partners to offer enterprises greater flexibility and cost efficiencies with cloud-based applications.”