A computer-implemented method according to one embodiment includes monitoring and storing historical data access to image data by a container within a container environment, identifying or predicting that a container is to be started utilizing the image within the container environment, predicting data to be accessed by the container, based on the historical data access by the image, and initiating a copy-on-write (COW) for the data to be accessed by the container, in response to identifying or predicting that the container is to be started.