KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA 2022 has come to an end, but the conversations around cloud native development continue, as event attendees take what they learned from 189 sessions, keynotes and lightning talks, both in-person and virtually, and apply them in their organizations. The sessions were culled from 1526 submissions in an effort to educate, inspire and challenge attendees – and they did.
Cloud Native for Enterprise and Security Emerge as Key Themes
One key takeaway from this year's show is that open source is gaining momentum in the enterprise. Analysts from TheCUBE commented on the growing importance of open source tools for running major enterprise systems, and venture capital funds are increasingly flowing toward open source projects.
In fact, open source software is used in mission-critical workloads by over 95% of IT organizations worldwide, and Gartner has called it the “backbone of digital innovation.” Dzone’s new research, Kubernetes in the Enterprise report backs this up, finding that 94% of developers surveyed believe that Kubernetes will be a bigger part of their system design over the next two to three years.
With Kubernetes and cloud native development gaining momentum in the enterprise, it’s no wonder cloud native security was front and center in a majority of discussions at the show. Not only was it a major topic for presenters and attendees at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon, cloud native security will be the sole focus of a spin off event happening in February 2023 in Seattle – and for good reason. According to Slim.AI Top Public Container Report 2022, 60% of CNCF projects have vulnerabilities today than they had a year ago.
New Solutions
A number of new solutions were introduced to address the security challenge:
- Kasten K10 V5.5: The latest version of our market-leading data management platform introduces powerful new capabilities around Autonomous Operations and cloud native expansion, to address challenges of operational complexity at scale in diverse deployment environments. New capabilities include intelligent policies, greater ease of deployment and scale with support for Amazon EKS, and expanded cloud native ecosystems with support for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.
- Red Hat Device Edge: Based on MicroShift, an experimental flavor of OpenShift/Kubernetes, Red Hat’s edge offering enables the deployment of containers on computers half the size as traditionally needed for traditional K8s deployments, offering substantial savings on infrastructure.
- Azure AKS Updates: Microsoft announced new features for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) that promise to increase performance and scalability of Kubernetes clusters and workloads, while improving the security posture and landscape.
- SUSE: SUSE announced the incorporation of Linux and Kubernetes Management into Edge 2.0, providing a secure stack for scaling edge operations. They also debuted new innovations for the Rancher by SUSE portfolio to enhance security for cloud native workloads.
Contributions Critical to Cloud Native Innovation
During her keynote, Priyaka Sharma, asked the audience to set aside two hours of their time for helping out with open source, cloud native projects over the next month, pointing out that especially in uncertain economic times, open source can help to improve productivity and business results.
For example, Ford Motor Co. – who was a pioneer in Kubernetes development back in 2015 with its Cloud Foundry, an open-source multicloud application platform – was able to make strategic adjustments and excel in a highly competitive automotive industry when other automakers were struggling. In fact, since 2016, the company acquired Chariot, a startup mobility service, added many new technologies to its manufacturing lines, and brought zero-emission electric vehicles at scale to the U.S. with a new auto production complex. In partnership with Red Hat and Boston University, Ford also upskilled its workforce to help with a transformation from traditional software development to cloud-native development.
It’s accomplishments such as these that underscore the criticality of open source contributions and community involvement to cloud native innovation.
A Focus on Learning and Community Support
At Kasten by Veeam, we’re doing our part in offering opportunities for cloud native developers to expand their Kubernetes knowledge, including the introduction of its rebranded and revamped learning site, KubeCampus. Now a neutral learning community, KubeCampus offers engaging, high-quality and fun content and labs to the broader Kubernetes community.
KubeCampus was created to support the cloud native community, and Kasten is committed to continuing to expand and enrich the site with additional labs and resources. We plan to increase engagement, and drive additional registrations from new and broader communities such as colleges, coding camps and corporate DevOps organizations, as well. We’re also working to attract technology and content partners for co-produced labs and trainings, and provide additional opportunities for in-person training and certifications.
Learning Day Draws Hundreds
Free Kubernetes Learning Day, by KubeCampus delivered on its promise to take the learning community’s Kubernetes knowledge to the next level with a powerful in-person, no-cost experience designed for learners of all levels. More than 300 learners attended and participated in hands-on labs for both rookies and pros. The level of engagement was robust, with spirited conversations between learners and instructors regarding best techniques for completing current labs, and suggestions for future labs, content, and gamification. Learners actively shared digital badges earned for the Learning Day labs on various social media platforms, as well.
A variety of participants engaged with Kasten’s engineering staff and talent acquisition teams at the event, affording them a chance to explore both internship and full-time career opportunities.
As Le Tran, a member of our technical staff who spoke at the show said, “Cloud native technologies, in general – and Kubernetes specifically – might not be the most beginner-friendly topics. Therefore, it’s important for our community to lend a helping hand and continue to build bridges into our world through open learning tools and platforms.”
Take a look at the site and tell us what you think!
Tom Leyden is the VP of Marketing for Kasten by Veeam. As a marketing professional with networks in the USA, Europe and Israel, he has over the past 15 years built a track record with market-disrupting start-up companies in Cloud Computing, Storage, and Artificial Intelligence. His start-up successes include dedupe pioneer DCT (Symantec), early cloud innovator Q-layer (Sun/Oracle), Amplidata (HGST), and Elastic NVMe innovator Excelero. Belgium is home; the world is his workspace.
