KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2025: a multi-perspective recap

The maturing Kubernetes ecosystem

One of the clearest themes at KubeCon 2025 was the maturation of Kubernetes as a technology. As one of our cloud specialists observed:

"Kubernetes has now matured, shifting the focus from innovation to improving stability, security, and performance."

This evolution was evident throughout the conference programme. While previous years often highlighted revolutionary new features, this year's sessions largely focused on production-grade implementations, security hardening, and performance optimisation. The technology has firmly established itself as a fundamental building block of modern infrastructure, with less emphasis on "if" it should be adopted and more on "how" it should be implemented effectively.

Another technical insight worth noting:

"Cloud native and Kubernetes can no longer be viewed separately. Persistent data in Kubernetes remains challenging, but everyone is doing it anyway."

This pragmatic observation reflects how organisations are pushing forward with containerised stateful applications despite the inherent complexities, signalling a new phase in enterprise Kubernetes adoption.

European cloud sovereignty takes centre stage

A particularly significant trend was the increased focus on European cloud sovereignty. Multiple sessions addressed how European organisations can maintain control over their data while still benefiting from modern cloud technologies.

"Highlights were the visions of several presenters and panellists for the future of Kubernetes and the European cloud. By further standardising technical infrastructure, Europe can meet its own cloud needs and detach itself from American hyperscalers."

The discussions centred around how standardising technical infrastructure could enable European providers to offer competitive alternatives to the dominant international hyperscalers. For organisations concerned about data residency, regulatory compliance, and geopolitical considerations, these conversations provided valuable guidance on navigating an increasingly complex landscape.

Our team engaged in numerous discussions about these challenges with attendees who visited our team members at the event. The concern about data sovereignty clearly resonates with many European organisations who are seeking cloud solutions that align with both their technical requirements and regulatory obligations.

AI and LLMs: practical integration with Kubernetes

Artificial intelligence and large language models dominated much of the conversation at KubeCon 2025. Unlike previous years where AI discussions might have been confined to specialised tracks, this year saw AI topics integrated throughout virtually all aspects of the cloud-native ecosystem.

The Kubernetes dynamic resource allocation (DRA) feature was repeatedly highlighted as a significant advancement for AI workloads, enabling more efficient sharing of GPUs and other specialised hardware. This development is particularly important as organisations look to run AI workloads more cost-effectively while maintaining performance.

Another notable advancement was technology that simplifies deploying EU-based custom-trained LLMs, addressing both the technical challenges and sovereignty concerns related to AI implementation. This development is especially relevant for European organisations looking to leverage AI while maintaining control over their data and algorithms.

Developer experience: making complexity manageable

A major focus throughout the conference was improving the developer experience on Kubernetes. As cloud-native technology stacks become increasingly complex, making these systems more accessible and manageable for developers has become a priority.

"The 'Developer Experience on Kubernetes' talk, where they discussed different projects for your dev environments such as Testcontainers, Microcks and Buildpacks was very interesting"

Developer portals like Cortex, Backstage, and Port received significant attention as tools that can abstract away complexity and provide developers with self-service capabilities. These technologies aim to enable developer productivity without requiring deep Kubernetes expertise, potentially accelerating cloud-native adoption across organisations.

Standout technical presentations

Among the hundreds of sessions, several presentations stood out for their technical depth and practical applicability:

Production at scale

The presentation by Etsy on Prometheus at scale provided valuable insights on monitoring large-scale Kubernetes deployments:

"Talk from Etsy about Prometheus was quite cool, especially due to the scale and comparable tools"

For organisations struggling with monitoring as they scale their Kubernetes footprint, this session offered practical strategies and real-world lessons.

Beyond traditional use cases

The LEGO Group's presentation on "Keeping the Bricks Flowing: The LEGO Group's Approach to Platform Engineering for Manufacturing" by Paul Farver and Thomas Øther Rasmussen demonstrated how Kubernetes principles can extend beyond traditional IT applications. This session showed how cloud-native approaches can transform conventional manufacturing environments, highlighting the versatility of these technologies.

Complex migrations

A particularly valuable presentation for enterprises covered migration challenges:

"The presentation by Clément Nussbaumer was very impressive. It concerned migrating 35 Kubernetes clusters in an air-gapped environment of a Swiss institution. My team and I have performed similar migrations and such a project requires extensive preparation and is usually unique."

This type of real-world experience sharing is invaluable for organisations planning complex migrations or working in regulated environments with air-gapped requirements.

Business value and ROI

Beyond pure technical content, several presentations addressed the crucial business aspects of cloud-native technologies:

"A practical Guide to cloud-native solutions: Demonstrating ROI and Business Impact. This provided insight into how various calculations can help convince management of different choices. Such as Churn rate, Risk Tolerance Example and Infrastructure Modernization Example could be incorporated into a white paper or calculator to help developers convince their management."

These practical frameworks for communicating cloud-native value to business stakeholders are essential tools for technology professionals who need to secure buy-in for Kubernetes initiatives. The focus on quantifiable benefits and risk assessment methodologies provides a common language for technical and business teams.

Technological discoveries worth exploring

The conference highlighted several technologies that organisations should consider exploring:

• Kubernetes DRA: for more efficient AI workload management

• KubeDB: for simplified database management on Kubernetes

• Microcks: for API mocking and testing

• Developer portals: including Cortex, Backstage, and Port

• GPU sharing technologies: for cost-effective AI infrastructure

• Prometheus ecosystem: for comprehensive observability

These technologies represent areas of significant innovation within the cloud-native landscape and may offer competitive advantages for early adopters.

Practical applications beyond containers

One of the most interesting insights from the conference was how Kubernetes is evolving beyond its origins as a container orchestration system:

"Kubernetes is much more than a container coordinator"

This evolution is seeing Kubernetes being used as an API-driven control plane for all sorts of infrastructure and applications, not just containerised workloads. This broader applicability suggests that skills invested in Kubernetes will continue to be valuable even as the landscape evolves.

From managing GPU resources for AI workloads to orchestrating traditional applications, the Kubernetes API is becoming a universal interface for operational concerns. This trend has significant implications for how organisations should approach their cloud-native strategies.

Interactive learning experiences

The conference wasn't all serious technical discussions. Interactive elements like the "Malware Quack Down" game provided engaging ways to explore security concepts, with attendees using fishing rods to "catch" security threats. These creative approaches to communicating complex topics were a highlight for many participants.

The exhibition hall featured numerous interactive demonstrations from both open-source projects and commercial vendors, allowing attendees to get hands-on experience with new technologies. These practical learning opportunities provided valuable context for the more theoretical concepts discussed in the sessions.

Conclusion

KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2025 revealed a cloud-native ecosystem that's maturing rapidly but still full of innovation. The focus on production-grade implementations, security, and performance optimisation indicates that Kubernetes has achieved mainstream adoption, while new developments in areas like AI integration, developer experience, and European sovereignty demonstrate continued evolution.

For organisations invested in or considering cloud-native technologies, the key takeaways should be:

1. Kubernetes is now firmly established as infrastructure, with the focus shifting to optimisation and secure implementation

2. Data sovereignty concerns are driving European cloud innovation

3. AI workloads are increasingly being integrated into Kubernetes environments

4. Developer experience remains crucial for widespread adoption

5. The technical community is finding creative solutions to persistent challenges like stateful applications

As one attendee aptly summarised:

"You are part of something big!"

This sentiment captures the excitement and potential of the cloud-native movement, which continues to transform how organisations build and run their digital infrastructure.

Consider Cyso Cloud for your European Kubernetes journey

If your organisation is evaluating Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies with an emphasis on European data sovereignty, Cyso Cloud offers the ideal combination of technical excellence and regulatory compliance. Our European cloud infrastructure ensures your data remains protected under EU regulations while providing the performance and reliability your applications demand.

Whether you're just starting your Kubernetes journey or looking to optimise an existing deployment, our team of experts is ready to guide you through each step of the process.