IAB Tech Lab Introduces Containerization Project to Modernize and Scale Programmatic Advertising Infrastructure

The IAB Tech Lab, the leading global authority on digital advertising technical standards, has announced the launch of its Containerization Project, a strategic initiative aimed at redefining the infrastructure of the programmatic advertising supply chain.

As the programmatic ecosystem faces increasing complexity—due to scaling demands during live events, fragmented systems, and performance inconsistencies—the current technology framework is reaching its limits. To meet these challenges, the Containerization Project introduces a standardized approach to container technology for OpenRTB, designed to support greater scalability, interoperability, and operational efficiency across the digital advertising landscape.

“After more than a decade of incredible growth, the digital ad ecosystem has pushed the current framework upon which programmatic is built to its limits,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO, IAB Tech Lab. “The way ad tech is built today is complex and has the potential to introduce inefficiency at integration points. The Containerization Project is not about incremental change. While Open RTB isn’t going anywhere, we are taking a hard look at how programmatic architecture is deployed and the underlying protocols, such as HTTP/1.1, and proposing a more intentional, durable foundation to innovate the next generation of real-time bidding.”

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The Tech Lab Containerization Project Working Group is leading the development of this initiative. The group’s initial scope includes technical guidance on supported network protocols, container image standards, performance benchmarks, instrumentation metrics, and security best practices. These foundational elements aim to bring uniformity and predictability to how containers are deployed within the programmatic environment.

Crucially, the project introduces use case-driven guidelines for responsible data handling within containers. This includes scenarios such as bid request and response enrichment, curation signaling, and fraud detection workflows. By establishing standards around these processes, the initiative empowers SSPs (Supply-Side Platforms) and DSPs (Demand-Side Platforms) to more easily integrate, replace, or scale specialized bidding partners—without sacrificing speed, transparency, or system efficiency.

Ultimately, the Containerization Project represents a critical step forward in evolving the technical foundation of real-time bidding, ensuring the industry can keep pace with future growth and innovation while maintaining performance and sustainability.