With innovation serving as the currency of progress in the world of technology, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation stands as an example of collaboration and evolution.

The evolving landscape of cloud-native technologies make clear the importance of diversity, adaptation to emerging trends and preserving the core values that have made the CNCF a powerhouse in the tech world. As the tech industry evolves, the CNCF remains at the forefront, ready to embrace new challenges and opportunities.

“I work mostly with end users … the people taking these technologies and projects and applying them within their businesses and seeing the contributions in Kubernetes,” said Talor Dolezal (pictured), head of ecosystem at the CNCF. “You’re seeing people start to shift away and put their focus on other aspects … and then vendors coming in and picking up the rest with things, such as OpenTelemetry and other stuff that people want to really focus on.”

Dolezal spoke with theCUBE industry analysts John Furrier  and Savannah Peterson at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. Dolezal discussed his perspectives on the state of the CNCF ecosystem, the challenges it faces and the innovative developments within it. (* Disclosure below.)

The CNCF ecosystem: A dynamic melting pot of innovation

The CNCF brings together a wide range of participants, including startup founders, hyperscalers, big companies, open-source contributors and innovators, according to Dolezal. In fact, this diversity is one of the key strengths of the CNCF community.

“It’s a mix of all kinds of great people … all in one place,” he said. “It’s really the perfect ‘melting pot of innovation.’”

One intriguing observation made by Dolezal is the growing interest in artificial intelligence within the CNCF community. AI was a prominent topic of discussion at the conference, alongside other critical subjects, such as platform engineering and security.

“What’s been really strange is that people have been talking about AI a lot at this conference,” he said. “Platform engineering, security and then lots of other threads and features and things within the ecosystem … the top three [are] AI, security [and] platform engineering.”

Kubernetes maturity and the changing landscape

As Kubernetes continues to mature, it’s gradually fading into the background, Dolezal pointed out. And while Kubernetes remains essential, the community is now focusing on other aspects, such as GitOps, continuous delivery, security and platform tools.

“You’ll know Kubernetes has reached a day of success when it starts to disappear into the background, and we’re really seeing that,” he said. “I think we’re well past the point where Kubernetes is front and center in every conversation.”

One of the most challenging questions posed during the interview was defining the market that CNCF focuses on. It’s not easy to categorize the CNCF ecosystem into existing market segments, such as infrastructure as a service or platform as a service. Instead, Dolezal sees it as a new, multifaceted market.

“I think the answer is ‘D’ — all of the above,” he added. “It’s a new thing, and what’s exciting is that the platform engineering conversation is now broad.”

It is important to nurture the CNCF ecosystem while maintaining its core values, according to Dolezal. As the community grows, it’s crucial to ensure that everyone has a voice and feels included in decision-making processes. This approach helps strike a balance between growth and maintaining the unique culture of the CNCF community.

“The secret being just constant conversation and listening to the community. If we’re making decisions and not including them in that mix, it’s just going to be a bad time,” he said.

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA. Neither Red Hat Inc. and CNCF, the main sponsors of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE