Docker launched a new version of its container management platform Docker Engine 1.12 that will likely compete with Google’s Kubernetes open source platform. Docker 1.12 features orchestration capabilities for multiple containers running on multiple hosts and supports all applications from development to deployment, the company says.

Docker debuted version 1.12 during the kick off of DockerCon 2016 in Seattle today. During the keynote session Docker CEO Ben Golub touted the growing support for Docker, noting that this year’s conference has more than 4,000 attendees, double the number of conference-goers in 2015. He also said that there are now more than 460,000 apps in the Docker Hub and that GitHub now has 95,000 Docker projects listed on the service.

Golub’s remarks at DockerCon today emphasized what he called the “democratization” of Docker, which he said was necessary for the next-phase of Docker adoption. “Knowing there is a rich ecosystem of tools and technologies is fantastic,” he says.

Docker executives say that Docker Engine 1.12 will ease the deployment and management of Dockerized apps. In addition, it will allow the network to self-organize and self-heal so it can run multi-container distributed applications.

Docker 1.12 will face competition from Google’s Kubernetes, which is intended to help automate the deployment, scale, and operation of containers across clusters of hosts. Many companies are using the Kubernetes framework because it has a strong community and is gaining wide-spread acceptance from enterprises that want to build applications for containers.

According to Solomon Hykes, founder and CTO of Docker, the company is doing for orchestration what it did for containers. “Three years ago we brought containerization into the mainstream by making it usable for non-experts, without lock-in. We think it’s time to do the same for orchestration,” Hykes said in a statement.

Docker will offer “swarm mode” which it describes as an optional feature that users can use to turn on built-in orchestration, or they can use their own custom tooling or third-party orchestrators.

Docker orchestration also will feature an in-memory caching layer that maintains the state of the entire swarm and assures scheduling performance even during peak time. The system also has a built-in routing mesh technology for load balancing.

Docker 1.12 is available in beta now for Mac and Windows and through Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft’s Azure cloud services. General availability is planned for next month.