As KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2024 draws to a close, the event leaves behind a rich tapestry of insights and advancements in the world of cloud computing and Kubernetes.

This year’s conference, marked by its vibrant atmosphere of nostalgia mixed with forward-looking enthusiasm, celebrated the significant milestone of Kubernetes’ tenth anniversary. Attendees and speakers alike delved into retrospective discussions about Kubernetes’ transformative journey over the past decade while also casting a keen eye on its future, particularly in the realms of artificial intelligence integration and the evolving landscape of cloud-native technologies.

“Absolutely packed, really good interests across the board from community developers,” said Dustin Kirkland (pictured, second from left), guest analyst on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. “Some maybe new to the open-source and CNCF community, but a lot of enterprise interests, a lot of EU enterprise interest in the various solutions that are surrounding us here on the show floor.”

During the event, Kirkland and his co-analysts, Rob Strechay (right), Savannah Peterson (second from right), and Joep Piscaer (left), discussed the significant attendance and community engagement, the evolution and maturity of Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies, and the anticipation of their future integration with AI and data science. (* Disclosure below.)

Empowering innovation: Kubernetes’ role in shaping the future of cloud technologies

The conference highlighted the shift toward a developer-centric approach in cloud-native technology, noting the importance of empowering developers to build meaningful solutions for businesses, acording to Piscaer. This focus is indicative of the maturity of Kubernetes and the broader ecosystem, moving beyond infrastructure concerns to address more complex, business-driven requirements.

“Kubernetes is just mature, like you say, people are implemented … we’re looking at the developer how to empower them, how to enable them to actually build something that makes sense for the business,” Piscaer said. “That’s what excites me in this show is actually having those conversations about what the developers need, what the business needs. We’re kind of in a phase where we can just say, the infrastructure part, it’s there, it’s a commodity again, which I just enjoy.”

The integration of new contributors and the expansion of the community also plays a critical role, according to Strechay. The diversity and growth of the community contribute significantly to the evolution of cloud-native technologies. With more than half of the attendees being newcomers, there’s a vibrant exchange of ideas and experiences that enriches the ecosystem.

“Backstage has more individual contributors than any of the other projects that are out there. It may not have all of the contributions, but to me, that’s the interface between platform engineering and developer,” Strechay said. “I think we’ve heard through a number of the discussions we’ve had this week, how do you make that? How do you make platform engineering, understand what the developers need? And, by the way, now you got this guy called a data scientist who’s trying to put other things and models in places that models haven’t been before.”

In summary, the latest KubeCon + CloudNativeCon has underscored a pivotal shift in the cloud-native ecosystem. The focus is now firmly on empowering developers and integrating AI and data science into cloud-native strategies. This evolution, backed by a diverse and growing community, sets a promising trajectory for the future of cloud-native technologies.

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

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe event. No sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE