Kubernetes implements a system for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It is often referred to as being a Container as a Service (CaaS).
Kubernetes alone does not provide any support for building the container image it runs. You need to run a build tool to create your application image on a separate system and push that to an image registry from which it can be deployed. This is because CaaS focuses on just running containers.
OpenShift builds on top of and bundles Kubernetes to implement a Platform as a Service (PaaS) environment, which is more friendly to developers as well as provides the additional tools and services needed by operations to implement a comprehensive container application platform.
Develop Applications on OpenShift
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform
What is the difference between OpenShift and Kubernetes?
What books are available about OpenShift?
Where can I try out OpenShift to see what it is like?
How can I run OpenShift on my own computer for development?
What hosting services are there that use OpenShift?
Last updated: July 31, 2025