Kubernetes won the orchestration wars. Its teams are still fighting.

Kubernetes emerged victorious in the container orchestration wars, with 82% of container users deploying it in production, according to the CNCF. However, Kubernetes teams are not without their challenges. Developers enjoy the self-service capabilities that let them scale apps and alter configurations without needing approval from others, while operations teams appreciate the stability and control that Kubernetes provides through ticketing and change requests.

Yet, developers thrive on speed, while operations prefer methodical processes. As apps migrate to hybrid and edge computing environments, driven by the rise in AI inference workloads, Kubernetes-using teams face increased stress. HPE Fellow David Estes suggests that companies may be overly reliant on microservices, resulting in "architecture bloat."

To address these challenges, Estes believes AI automation could play a crucial role. It could assist developers in monitoring Kubernetes clusters, reviewing logs, and predicting potential outages. Furthermore, operations teams could benefit from AI to automate infrastructure tasks, potentially bringing significant improvements to the Kubernetes landscape.

HPE is actively developing solutions, such as HPE OpsRamp, to help manage multi-cloud and on-premises computing environments, but the company believes AI itself may ultimately resolve many of the issues that have arisen with the widespread adoption of Kubernetes. With Kubernetes' popularity and economic importance, this news is promising for developers and operations teams alike.

HPE plans to attend KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America in Salt Lake City (Nov. 9–12) and other events, looking forward to meeting industry professionals.