With technologies like Kubernetes bursting on to the scene and gaining traction among developers, it is more important than ever for engineers to upskill and embrace new platforms.

What is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes is a container management platform that allows IT teams to have more control around the process of deploying, scaling and managing applications. This open-source and cloud-native technology is a game changer for businesses looking to make their development, testing, and production phases more consistent across platforms. 

Application portability is one of the big drivers and Each containerised application has its own namespace/POD which contains all the pieces required to run the application. This included storage, compute, memory, security elements and more. 

Containers are also a good way to bundle and run applications. In a production environment, developers are tasked with continuous integration and development (CI/CD) which involves managing multiple containerized applications and ensuring that there is no downtime. In the event that a container does go down, another container needs to start. Kubernetes removes this manual process and ensures this action is completed automatically.

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Investing in skills is an investment in the business

Just like with any new disruptive technology, the deployment and innovation of Kubernetes cannot be maintained without an equal measure of education. With universities and education institutions beginning to introduce Kubernetes into their curriculums, Australia’s youngest developers are coming into the workforce equipped with a skillset to propel the industry forward. But what does that mean for existing IT teams, particularly those who are generation Y and above? 

Those more experienced members of IT teams hold a wealth of invaluable experience. They have witnessed digital transformation first-hand and know better than most how to adapt to changing processes and job remits. Their experience should be revered, and just as they are investing in imparting knowledge onto a newer member of their teams, so too should their professional development be invested in. 

Without this reciprocal skills transfer, a gap will become more and more evident among IT teams. However, implementing a regular and mutual knowledge exchange program could be the silver bullet businesses need to ensure their company’s systems remain at the top of their game, whatever their field. 

Creating new roles in the DevOps community

As more and more businesses discover the value of Kubernetes, developers who are familiar with and understand the technology will soon find themselves in high demand. With the power and knowledge to automate and secure backend systems, businesses will be falling over themselves to ensure they have the employees they need to remain competitive. 

Where we see DevOps engineers mastering a multitude of specialisms such as HashiCorp Stack, Docker and Apache Mesos, we will soon see these specialist areas of expertise expanding into a fully fledged role such that is purely Kubernetes focused…these do exist today but are still not fully fleshed out when comparing roles in the virtualisation space.

Not only will these specialist roles prove beneficial to individual companies, but they will also benefit global innovation on an enormous scale. A Kubernetes platform operator whose sole role is to focus on that one key area will now have the opportunity to hone in their skills, innovate the solution and take existing capabilities to a whole new level.

To level the playing field in the technology industry, businesses must learn that to be truly competitive, they can not afford to be competing internally. Knowledge must be shared across experience levels, industries and even counties to truly harness the power of the technology. If left in the hands of one organisation for one purpose only, innovation will naturally be limited. Only when shared across a diverse range of sectors, specialisms and regions will its true potential be uncovered and the doors to an expanded job market will swing firmly open.

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