#86 What’s Next for Kubernetes? KubeCon 2025 Recap with Nick Schouten

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Welcome to the cozy corner of the tech world! Datatopics is your go-to spot for relaxed discussions around tech, news, data, and society.

In this episode of Data Topics, we sit down with Nick Schouten — data engineer at dataroots — for a full recap of KubeCon Europe 2025 and a deep dive into the current and future state of Kubernetes.

We talk through what’s actually happening in the Kubernetes ecosystem — from platform engineering trends to AI infra challenges — and why some teams are doubling down while others are stepping away.

Here’s what we cover:

• What Kubernetes actually is, and how to explain it beyond the buzzword
• When Kubernetes is the right choice (e.g., hybrid environments, GPU-heavy workloads) — and when it’s overkill
• How teams are trying to host LLMs and AI models on Kubernetes, and the blockers they’re hitting (GPUs, complexity, cost)
• GitOps innovations spotted at KubeCon — like tools that convert UI clicks into Git commits for infrastructure-as-code
• Why observability is still one of Kubernetes’ biggest weaknesses, and how a wave of new startups are trying to solve it
• The push to improve developer experience for ML and data teams (no more YAML overload)
• The debate around abstraction vs control — and how some teams are turning away from Kubernetes entirely in favor of simpler tools
• What “vibe coding” means in an LLM-driven world, and how voice-to-code workflows are changing how we write infrastructure
• Whether the future of Kubernetes is more “visible and accessible,” or further under the hood

If you're a data engineer, MLOps practitioner, platform lead, or simply trying to stay ahead of the curve in infrastructure and AI — this episode is packed with relevant insights from someone who's hands-on with both the tools and the teaching.

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1. Introduction to Data Topics Podcast (00:00:00)

2. What is Kubernetes (K8s) Explained (00:02:38)

3. Why Use Kubernetes for Containerization (00:09:08)

4. KubeCon Europe Highlights and Trends (00:14:26)

5. LLMs and Kubernetes Integration (00:26:40)

6. The Future of Container Orchestration (00:39:38)

7. Security Challenges with AI Agents (00:52:38)

8. Final Thoughts and Future Predictions (01:01:18)