The massive adoption of Kubernetes as a key solution for enterprise computing makes it inevitable that as new technologies come on the horizon, the container orchestration tool will be involved in some way.

Emerging tech solutions such as edge computing and the AI-based ChatGPT provide two prime examples of where Kubernetes will undoubtedly play an important role. These and other critical topics in enterprise tech are on the agenda when the cloud-native community gathers in Amsterdam for a sold-out KubeCon + CloudNativeCon EU event in April.

“AI as a workload is phenomenal for containers, and Kubernetes is built for scale, built for automation,” Stu Miniman, director of market insights for cloud platforms at Red Hat Inc., said during an interview in advance of KubeCon EU with theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. “Containers as an architecture brings you much, much closer to the application itself, and you want to be able to live everywhere.”

TheCUBE’s coverage of KubeCon EU April 19-21 will include interviews with industry executives and analysts who will provide insight into the latest cloud-native trends and what’s in store for Kubernetes and its continued influence in enterprise IT. (* Disclosure below.)

Enhancements for automation

The introduction of ChatGPT at the end of November as an openly available artificial intelligence tool raised a compelling question in enterprise tech circles. What impact would this AI technology have on existing automation solutions such as Kubernetes?

Some developers have already demonstrated how ChatGPT can deployed on a Kubernetes cluster to help scale and manage machine learning models. Observability solutions provider OpsCruise Inc. has outlined how ChatGPT can be leveraged for troubleshooting in Kubernetes. Open-source security company Armo Ltd. recently announced a ChatGPT integration within its platform that helps verify proper cluster configurations.

There are signs that enterprise interest in AI may be increasing use of on-premises operations for Kubernetes and other tools in an effort to be closer to key datasets needed to train models, according to Rob Strechay, industry analyst for theCUBE.

“There is a lot of on-premise Kubernetes happening,” said Strechay, during an interview in advance of KubeCon EU. “As you get into things like AI and machine learning, where is the data? If I’m training these models and I’m building applications that are cloud-native in Kubernetes, I’m doing that on-prem closer to the data training those models because I don’t have the expense of moving them around.”

Here’s theCUBE’s complete interview with Stu Miniman and Rob Strechay:

Containers at the edge

Not to be forgotten in the hype surrounding enterprise AI is ongoing deployment of new technology for the edge. The “Global Edge Computing Market” report has predicted a compound annual growth rate of 38.9% over the next eight years, reaching $155.90 billion by 2030. This potential for significant growth is leading a number of enterprise tech companies to explore solutions that combine Kubernetes capabilities with edge deployments. Open-source software company SUSE Group has fused native Linux OS with Kubernetes to manage downstream clusters using the Rancher software stack for container control.

“(Customers) stand up Rancher at a centralized cloud location like HPE GreenLake for example,” said Keith Basil, general manager of the Edge Business Unit at SUSE, in a recent interview with SiliconANGLE. “Then that control plane, if you will, manages thousands of downstream clusters that are running Kubernetes at these edge locations. So that’s what the complete stack looks like.”

Other companies are pursuing Kubernetes applications at the edge. In recent months, Red Hat has stepped up its support for small edge devices by delivering a Kubernetes-compatible operating environment to run in a wide range of edge computing locations, including internet-of-things devices, point-of-sale terminals and robots. Red Hat Device Edge is based on the company’s Kubernetes OpenShift implementation.

Red Hat already has an edge version of Enterprise Linux that this will ultimately replace, according to Nick Barcet, the company’s chief technology officer for customer-led open innovation, in an interview with SiliconANGLE. “Red Hat Device Edge is going to be our offering for the edge, in general, whether you use OpenShift or not,” he said.

A greener approach

While Kubernetes has played an increasingly more significant role in key enterprise areas such as AI and edge, another area receiving less attention that could become more important is the impact of Kubernetes on environmental sustainability.

Major players in the tech industry are becoming more focused on the carbon footprint of data centers and the need for tools that can address issues such as always-on servers that provide no useful function. Kubernetes’ capabilities in flexibility and accuracy provide advantages in resource management. Resource requests and computing limits can be defined with precision, along with an ability to dictate process automation.

At the March QCon Conference in London, covered by SiliconANGLE, attendees heard a series of presenters outline potential carbon-curbing solutions, including using Kubernetes to reduce environmental impact.

“If you are using cloud infrastructure, you are still having CO2 impact,” said Paul Lawson, principal architect at the carbon removal marketplace Supercritical Tech Ltd., in a presentation at the QCon event. “There have been some use cases where customer use of Kubernetes has reduced their carbon footprint by 50%.”

Kubernetes is expanding its range of uses and applications as the technology world branches out around it. This dynamic will be just one of the many topics explored during theCUBE’s extensive coverage of KubeCon + CloudNativeCon in Amsterdam, April 19-21.

TheCUBE event livestream

Don’t miss theCUBE’s coverage of the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon EU conference on April 19-21. Plus, you can watch theCUBE’s event coverage on-demand after the live event.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch theCUBE’s coverage of the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon EU conference, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube channel. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s events on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE Insights podcast

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify, which you can enjoy while on the go.

SiliconANGLE also has analyst deep dives in our Breaking Analysis podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify.

Guests

This year’s guests include Red Hat Inc.’s Maciej Szulik, senior principal software engineer; 

Natale Vinto, senior principal developer advocate; Harriet Lawrence, principal product manager for OpenShift; Kevin Dubois, principal developer advocate; Fabian Deutsch, senior engineering manager; Christian Hernandez, senior principal product manager for cloud services; and David Eads, senior principal software engineer. 

Sebastian Kister, product team lead at Audi AG will also be joining theCUBE.

Check out theCUBE’s full KubeCon + CloudNativeCon EU guest lineup here.

Image: SiliconANGLE