> they can run it so long as they have the right JVM installed This is the key. The right JVM, the right classpaths, the right configuration, the right permiss

> they can run it so long as they have the right JVM installed This is the key. The right JVM, the right classpaths, the right configuration, the right permissions, the right native libraries. The setup process for every Java app we've used (thankfully just ActiveMQ and Kafka lately) have been incredibly complicated. JAR files in paths, long, convoluted shell scripts to set up all possible variables for every possible JVM, wrappers that wrap launchers, etc. And then all of those steps are prone to breakage and are difficult to debug. Shipping a Docker container lets you say "Here is a working environment that needs no configuration and won't suddenly fail until reconfigured when another app you have needs Java 9 and not Java 8".