It’s been a while since I had been there in KubeCon, which I was very excited about. Though it feels a bit delayed, I still wanna share what I’ve seen and felt at this conference.
I have a dear friend whom I met during my several business trip across Europe, especially in Germany. We met each other and have been sharing about how the Kubernetes will be developed and how these technical Points will impact and change the Ecosystem of Dev.
This guy once recommended me to go there and I started considering myself in what point I can get from there. And my conclusion was like this. I always need some ongoing objectivity through various exchanges and observation on International Level.
“Frog in a well.”
When I look back on myself, I’ve been wrestling with the meaning of these words both before and after my journey.
Index
- Basic Insights
- Look into the Session
- Business Points
- Personal thought on KubeCon
Basic Insights
- Key Note
The keynote sessions, usually held every morning, feature prominent speakers from various industries. These speakers often include top executives, lead developers, and AI specialists who share insights about the latest trends and advancements.
2. Schedule
The conference typically features sessions on various topics such as WebAssembly and Data on Kubernetes (DOK). Besides these sessions, there are also booths set up on different floors where tech companies showcase their latest technologies. I could find some big tech corporates like Microsoft, Nvidia, Docker, Dagger, Solo.io, and other software providers there.
One thing I noticed is that most of the representatives at these booths seemed more like salespeople than technical experts. While they were great at explaining what their companies do, they didn’t always have deep technical knowledge.
Look into the Session
The conference is packed up with various kind of sessions. For example, you’ll find use cases of Cilium, futuristic talks about eBPF Day, and Insight sharing of machine learning with KubeFlow, which is a CNCF project.
There are also sessions dedicated to Data on Kubernetes (DOK) Day, where experts focus into best practices and challenges of managing data-centric workloads in Kubernetes environments. These sessions by the CNCF organization are super useful and can totally meet your technical expectations and insight cravings.
“Just beware that the corporate sessions can turn into Sales Pitches”
However, the sessions run by corporations can sometimes feel like PR stuff. They’re basically talking about how awesome their solutions are and how you’ll profit from using them. For me, this was especially strong on the last day. Some of the AI sessions hosted by private companies felt like they were just pushing their products and explaining how to use them, which got a bit boring for me.
But, if you need to use their solutions in your environment, this info might be super handy for you. So, while those sessions didn’t do much for me, they could be a goldmine for others.
Business Points
KubeCon is a technical conference, not really a business or sales event. But here’s the deal: if you want to adapt technical benefits for your business, like applying resource use cases to your projects, KubeCon is the place to be.
It’s perfect for comparing your tech development on an international level, especially if you’re feeling like your efforts are too focused in one area. There are tons of use cases you can check out and adapt to your own business strategies.
However, if your goal is to promote your market product at KubeCon, this might not be the right venue. Honestly, I’ve heard that CNCF tries to limit commercial pitches at the event. And from what I saw, it wasn’t super crowded around the sales pitches anyway.
So, if you’re here to share tech insights and find new ways to improve your projects, KubeCon is awesome. But if you’re mainly showcasing a product, you might find it very quiet.
Personal Thought on KubeCon
I was lucky enough to meet my friend at KubeCon and have a networking dinner with my Laboratory teammates and his DevOps team. I didn’t just go for the tech insights. I also wanted to exchange cultural and IT ideas from different backgrounds.
I think this kind of event is one of the most valuable experiences you can have. You should definitely go, not just for the tech insights but also to connect with people from diverse cultures and industries.
Make appointments before you go, so that you can maximize your time with non-stop valuable experiences. If you only go to collect insights, you might miss out on other opportunities.
“Will I recommend the KubeCon to someone?”
Yes, absolutely!
But I don’t strongly recommend spending a lot of money flying to the furthest location just to collect the insight. KubeCon is hosted every year in multiple locations, so you can choose the closest event that’s convenient for you.
There are also local CNCF events (even if it is not KubeCon) around your area that can offer great insights too. So, find a local CNCF events near you and make the most of it!
05.25.2024 — Fin.
