What to Expect at KubeCon+CloudNativeCon
It’s that time of the year again when we gather to discuss all matters related to Kubernetes and the other assorted tooling necessary to make cloud native computing happen.
KubeCon+CloudNativeCon will be held in Los Angeles next month, October 11 -15. A key difference at this year’s event — the first onsite event from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation since the beginning of the pandemic — is that the flagship cloud native conference will offer a much more significant virtual experience for those unable to travel to the venue in L.A.
The virtual aspect of this year’s KubeCon+CloudNativeCon “is expected to continue indefinitely,” Priyanka Sharma, general manager, CNCF, said in this edition of The New Stack Makers podcast. Sharma was joined by conference co-chair Jasmine James, who is the Twitter developer experience lead and manager for engineering effectiveness. They discussed this year’s schedule and agenda, how it will all compare to KubeCon+CloudNativeCon of years past and general cloud native trends. TNS editor-in-chief, Joab Jackson, hosted this episode of The New Stack Makers.
What to Expect at KubeCon+CloudNativeCon
The full attendance is expected to total in the twenty of thousands, but given KubeCon+CloudNativeCon will be a U.S.-only event and due to COVID-19, onsite attendees are expected to number around 4,000, Sharma said.
Many potential attendees have questions about the safety risks associated with COVID-19. To that end, all attendees must show proof of vaccination with an app that will be provided and must wear a mask at all times. “People should evaluate the risk on an individual level and look at if they are living in families with at-risk individuals or populations and if they feel comfortable,” Sharma said. “We have done our best to make this a safe environment with a vaccine and mask required, and [to provide] a good, solid code of conduct that people will follow to enjoy the event safely.”
With the pandemic safety protocols and virtual support in place, KubeCon+CloudNativeCon will once again showcase cloud native tools, platforms and associated trends. One theme Sharma has observed leading up to the event is how traditional industries that have the significant legacy infrastructure to integrate are adapting Kubernetes.
The automotive industry, for example, has “very mature teams,” Sharma said. “The stories they were telling were, to my mind, much more mature than what I’ve seen in the past, and the biggest maturity that I saw was the pervasiveness of who was working with them on cloud native,” Sharma said. “It sounded like most of the engineering teams in all their organizations were reaching out to them and collaborating, and that to me was a [sign] of growth.”
Of course, Kubernetes and related cloud native tooling remain a work in progress across the IT sector. “I think there’s been a lot of progress made as it relates to making or picking the right tools for the right problems — so, I think that with all of the emerging projects within the CNCF landscape,” James said. “Folks have all the tools right in their toolbox — now it’s just a matter of learning when and where to apply them, and people are leaning on the community to help them make those decisions.”
