Kubernetes and the Public Cloud Promise
Kubernetes has become the de facto standard for container orchestration and, in my view, is the first platform to truly deliver on the public cloud promises of scalability and flexibility. Of course serverless platforms like AWS Lambda or Azure functions can deliver this to a certain extent, but the unique factor of kubernetes is that it does so in a largely vendor-agnostic manner. This can be a decisive factor when selecting a development and hosting platform.
When designed and operated correctly, Kubernetes enables development teams to deliver value autonomously while keeping compliance with organizational standards and controls in check.
Kubernetes Considerations
Flexibility always comes at a cost. Kubernetes’ primary challenge lies in its inherent complexity. Implementing and operating Kubernetes securely, reliably, and in line with best practices requires significant expertise and continuous effort.
Today, a wide range of tools and frameworks exist to simplify Kubernetes adoption, including cloud-provider guardrails and operators, as well as comprehensive platforms such as Red Hat OpenShift. However, even with these off-the-shelf solutions and addons, Kubernetes remains demanding to manage and requires a highly skilled team capable of handling a substantial cognitive load.
Effective Kubernetes operations require expertise across multiple domains, including cloud infrastructure, networking, software development best practices, application architecture, and general IT operations. Kubernetes platform teams often operate at the intersection of traditional and modern IT, combining established IT management frameworks (such as ITIL) with agile delivery methodologies like Scrum and SAFe.
To address this complexity, platform engineering plays a central role . The goal is to abstract unnecessary complexity from end users —primarily development teams— while providing curated services that improve the developer experience, such as an Internal Developer Platform (IDP). DevOps practices are central to this approach.
Self-service delivery is very important: dependencies should not become blockers!
My Experience as a Kubernetes Engineer and Architect
I have worked both in teams responsible for delivering Kubernetes as a platform service (Namespace As A Service, Cluster As a Service) and in development teams consuming Kubernetes from other Platform teams. This dual perspective allows me to understand the challenges and priorities on both sides. I prefer collaboration over rigid operational processes and formal agreements like SLA’s.
I am certified in Kubernetes technologies, holding the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD), and Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) credentials.
What I Can Do for You
- Kubernetes platform architecture, implementation, and engineering
- Delivery of platform capabilities such as Istio Service Mesh and the Cilium Container Network Interface (CNI)
- Implementation of Kubernetes-native distributed storage solutions, such as SUSE Longhorn
- Improve Kubernetes adoption, including organizational and application readiness assessments
- Implementation of Kubernetes guardrails and security best practices
- Troubleshooting Kubernetes platforms and workload-related issues
- Deployment and operation of Kubernetes observability solutions
Let’s discuss your challenges and plan an intake. For more information, please refer to my resume.