Explore the essential tools and technical guidance for enhancing observability and application performance monitoring (APM) on AWS. The article highlights free-to-try observability tools that integrate seamlessly with AWS workflows, emphasizing the importance of monitoring capabilities in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and offering a pay-as-you-go pricing model for scalable use.

The article discusses the Gartner Market Guide for Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP), highlighting the key features and benefits of these platforms for enhancing security in cloud-native environments. It also examines market trends, challenges, and the competitive landscape of CNAPP solutions, providing insights for organizations looking to adopt such technologies.

The article discusses the significance of platform engineering on Kubernetes, highlighting its role in enhancing developer productivity and streamlining operations. It emphasizes the need for organizations to adopt platform engineering practices to effectively manage complex cloud-native environments and improve the overall software development lifecycle.

PostgreSQL is increasingly favored for Kubernetes workloads, now powering 36% of such databases. Azure offers two deployment options for PostgreSQL on AKS: local NVMe for high performance and Premium SSD v2 for optimized cost-performance, enhanced by the CloudNativePG operator for high availability. These innovations simplify the management of stateful applications, making Azure a robust platform for data-intensive workloads.

The CNCF has announced the first wave of Kubernetes Community Days (KCDs) for H1 2026, introducing three tiers to accommodate various community sizes. New events will take place in several cities worldwide, including New Delhi, Panama, and Toronto, with applications for additional events opening in December 2025.

Red Hat has introduced the Advanced Developer Suite, a comprehensive set of tools designed to enhance the development and deployment experience for developers using Red Hat technologies. The suite aims to streamline workflows and improve productivity by integrating various development tools and services. Key features include support for cloud-native applications and enhanced collaboration capabilities.

The article discusses various challenges associated with managing Kubernetes environments, highlighting issues such as complexity, security concerns, and the need for effective monitoring and automation. It emphasizes the importance of streamlined management solutions to address these obstacles and improve operational efficiency in cloud-native applications.

The blog post introduces the Gateway API Inference Extension, which enhances the functionality of the Gateway API in Kubernetes. This extension aims to provide improved traffic management and routing capabilities for applications, facilitating better service integration and deployment strategies. The article outlines its key features and potential use cases for developers and system architects.

eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter) is emerging as a transformative technology for cloud-native applications, enabling developers to execute code in the kernel without modifying the kernel itself. This capability enhances performance, security, and observability in cloud environments, positioning eBPF as a critical component in the next phase of cloud-native development.

Securing cloud-native applications necessitates a comprehensive, security-first strategy that incorporates zero-trust principles and the right tools to protect against evolving threats, especially as AI advances. AWS offers a range of on-demand security tools that are free to try and can be scaled based on usage, helping organizations enhance their security posture effectively. Technical resources are also available to assist in deploying these cloud security tools within AWS environments.

Kubernetes 1.33 marks a significant advancement in MLOps and platform engineering by introducing features that enhance scalability, security, and usability for machine learning workloads. These changes are expected to streamline operations and improve the overall experience for developers and data scientists using Kubernetes in production environments.

Secrets management is crucial for modern applications, involving the secure handling of sensitive information like passwords and API keys. As infrastructure expands, the complexity of managing these secrets increases, leading to serious security risks. This guide reviews various secrets management tools, highlighting their capabilities and when to use them to effectively orchestrate secrets across diverse environments.

Elastic's transformation to a serverless architecture for Elastic Cloud Serverless involved shifting from a stateful system to a stateless design, leveraging cloud-native object storage and Kubernetes for orchestration. The changes aimed to meet evolving customer needs for simplified infrastructure management and scalability while optimizing performance and reducing operational complexity. Key strategies included using a push model for control and data communication, automated upgrades, and flexible usage-based pricing.

Talos is a Linux distribution designed specifically for Kubernetes, emphasizing a no-SSH approach to enhance security and simplify operations. It automates the deployment and management of Kubernetes clusters, allowing users to focus on their applications rather than the underlying infrastructure. Talos operates in a minimalistic environment, making it suitable for cloud-native applications and modern DevOps practices.

Jonathan Bryce has been appointed as the new executive director of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) by the Linux Foundation. He brings extensive experience in cloud-native technologies and aims to further the adoption and advancement of open-source cloud solutions.

The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) has partnered with Docker to enhance infrastructure support for project maintainers. This collaboration aims to provide vital resources and tools to help maintainers effectively manage their projects and contribute to the cloud-native ecosystem.

The article discusses the importance of image compatibility in cloud-native environments and how it affects application deployment and management. It highlights the challenges developers face with different image formats and the need for standardization to ensure seamless integration and functionality across various platforms. Additionally, it explores strategies to enhance compatibility and improve the overall user experience in cloud-native applications.

The article provides an analysis of the current momentum of Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) projects as of mid-year. It highlights the growth and adoption trends of various CNCF projects, emphasizing their impact on the cloud native ecosystem and the increasing importance of containerization and microservices in modern software development.

The article explores how Kubernetes is adapting to support the demands of emerging technologies like 6G networks, large language models (LLMs), and deep space applications. It highlights the scalability and flexibility of Kubernetes in managing complex workloads and ensuring efficient resource allocation. The discussion includes insights into the future implications of these advancements on cloud-native environments.

Immutable infrastructure is an approach in DevOps that emphasizes replacing servers rather than patching them, leading to predictable deployments and easier rollbacks. While it has many benefits, such as reducing configuration drift and enforcing best practices, there are challenges like slower deployment times and the need for upfront complexity in automation. Organizations should consider a gradual migration strategy to embrace immutable infrastructure while managing existing legacy systems.

The article discusses the innovative features and learning capabilities of Linkerd, emphasizing its role in enhancing service mesh technology. It highlights how Linkerd simplifies cloud-native applications, making them more efficient and easier to manage. The focus is on improving user experience and operational effectiveness through advanced tools and functionalities.

OpenTofu has officially joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), providing a new home for the open-source infrastructure as code (IaC) project. This move aims to enhance collaboration and innovation within the cloud-native ecosystem while supporting the growth of infrastructure automation tools.

OpenYurt has been accepted as an incubating project by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), enhancing cloud-edge orchestration for Kubernetes. Originally open-sourced by Alibaba Cloud, OpenYurt addresses key challenges in edge computing while maintaining compatibility with Kubernetes APIs, and has seen significant community growth and feature development since joining the CNCF Sandbox in 2020. The roadmap for 2025 includes support for Kubernetes v1.32 and expanded network capabilities.

Data engineering best practices are being challenged by modern demands for speed, agility, and purpose-driven architecture. Experts advocate for a shift from traditional centralized models to more flexible, intent-driven approaches that prioritize real business outcomes and guided autonomy. The need for a balance between standardization and freedom is crucial to avoid chaos and technical debt in data platforms.

KubeCon EU 2025 in London attracted over 13,000 attendees and highlighted significant advancements in cloud-native technologies, observability, and security. Key trends included the integration of AI and large language models with Kubernetes, the rise of platform engineering to manage complexity, and an emphasis on making observability more accessible. Dynatrace showcased its contributions to the cloud-native community, reinforcing its commitment to innovation in this rapidly evolving field.

The article discusses the new features and improvements introduced in Kubernetes v1.34, focusing on enhancements related to pod resource health reporting. It highlights how these updates aim to optimize resource management and provide better visibility into pod performance within Kubernetes clusters.

Meshery has launched the Certified Meshery Contributor (CMC) certification, the first of its kind for the CNCF, aimed at validating the technical proficiency of developers contributing to the Meshery open source project. The certification includes five exams focused on various architectural domains, catering to developers with intermediate skills, and is part of a broader Meshery Certification Program designed to support professional growth within the Meshery ecosystem.

The article discusses a user story related to Tetragon, a security observability tool for cloud-native applications. It highlights how Tetragon enhances security and monitoring capabilities in a social networking application, demonstrating its effectiveness in real-world scenarios. Key features and integrations of Tetragon are also explored, emphasizing its role in maintaining application integrity and compliance.

OpenTofu 1.10 has been released, introducing significant new features and improvements that address long-standing community requests, including OCI registry support and enhanced state management. The project has gained momentum, joining the CNCF as a Sandbox project, and is nearing 10 million GitHub downloads, reflecting its growing adoption in the infrastructure-as-code ecosystem. OpenTofu's commitment to community-driven innovation and governance is evident in this milestone release.

Flink 2.0 revolutionizes state management in real-time processing with a disaggregated architecture that separates compute and storage, enhancing scalability and efficiency. This evolution allows for advanced stateful computations, ensuring data consistency and low-latency access while optimizing resources in cloud environments. Key innovations include zero-copy operations, asynchronous execution, and improved performance metrics in real-world applications like logistics tracking.

The article discusses the release of Flux v2.6.0, highlighting new features, improvements, and bug fixes in the latest version. It emphasizes enhancements in the user experience and performance, making it easier for developers to manage their Kubernetes deployments. Additionally, the update integrates better with existing tools and workflows, aiming to streamline operations for continuous delivery in cloud-native environments.

Large Language Models (LLMs) are transforming Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) in cloud-native infrastructure by enhancing real-time operational capabilities, assisting in failure diagnosis, policy recommendations, and smart remediation. As AI-native solutions emerge, they enable SREs to manage complex environments more efficiently, potentially allowing fewer engineers to handle a larger number of workloads without sacrificing performance or resilience. Embracing these advancements could significantly reduce operational overhead and improve resource efficiency in modern Kubernetes management.

Adopting Kubernetes without a clear strategy can lead to complexity that hinders developer productivity and increases operational costs. The "golden path" concept presents an automated, opinionated workflow designed to streamline operations, enhance developer experience, and integrate security from the start, ultimately enabling faster innovation and reducing friction in cloud-native environments.

The author explores the potential for a new cloud-native event log system, dubbed Kafka.next, by outlining a wishlist of desirable features that could enhance the usability and performance of Kafka. Key improvements include eliminating partitions, implementing key-centric access, and incorporating broker-side schema support, among others, to better support modern event-driven applications. The post invites feedback from the community on additional features and architectural considerations.

The article discusses the challenges and methodologies involved in detecting container escape vulnerabilities within cloud-native environments. It emphasizes the importance of proactive security measures and provides insights into tools and strategies that can help organizations identify and mitigate these risks effectively.

Kubernetes is addressing its significant challenge of managing databases effectively, which has been a longstanding issue in the container orchestration ecosystem. The advancements in Kubernetes allow for better database management, improving deployment and scalability for developers. This evolution is seen as a pivotal step towards enhancing the usability and functionality of Kubernetes in cloud-native applications.

Google has donated the Agent2Agent protocol to the Linux Foundation, aiming to enhance interoperability in cloud-native environments. This move is part of Google's broader strategy to promote open-source technologies and collaborative development within the industry. The donation is expected to facilitate better communication between different agents in distributed systems.

The blog post announces the release of etcd version 3.6, highlighting its new features and improvements aimed at enhancing performance and reliability for distributed systems. It emphasizes the importance of etcd in Kubernetes and other cloud-native applications.

The webinar focuses on how to effectively deploy scalable SQL databases on Kubernetes, discussing key strategies and tools that enhance database performance and management in cloud-native environments. Attendees will gain insights into best practices and real-world use cases for leveraging Kubernetes for database scalability.

Dynatrace offers advanced observability solutions that enhance troubleshooting and debugging across cloud-native and AI-native applications. The platform utilizes AI for real-time analysis of logs, traces, and metrics, enabling developers to optimize workflows and improve performance with minimal configuration. Users can seamlessly integrate Dynatrace into their existing tech stack, significantly accelerating issue resolution and enhancing user experience.

The article presents a unique perspective on the evolving landscape of microservices and cloud-native architectures, emphasizing the importance of managing complexity through effective server management practices. It argues against the mainstream hype surrounding microservices, advocating for a more grounded approach to implementation and maintenance. The piece highlights the necessity of understanding the underlying infrastructure to optimize performance and reliability.

Pulumi ESC has launched Automated Database Credential Rotation for PostgreSQL and MySQL, addressing the security risks associated with static database credentials. This feature automates the rotation process, enhances security, and simplifies compliance, while providing seamless integration with cloud environments and tools. Key benefits include on-demand rotation, auditing, and the ability to manage credentials without application downtime.

The article discusses a cloud-native, API-first platform that enhances digital transformation by enabling businesses to integrate and scale applications seamlessly. It highlights the platform's capabilities in supporting modern software development practices and improving operational efficiency.

The article discusses the introduction of a new per-container restart policy in Kubernetes v1.34, which allows users to configure different restart behaviors for individual containers within a pod. This enhancement aims to improve the flexibility and control over container management, catering to various application needs and failure recovery strategies.

The blog post discusses the new volume attributes introduced in Kubernetes v1.34, highlighting the enhancements in storage class management and dynamic provisioning. It emphasizes how these updates will improve user experience and operational efficiency in managing Kubernetes storage solutions.

GitOps has become a crucial standard for managing cloud-native applications by leveraging Git as the single source of truth for system configurations, enabling faster, safer, and more consistent deployments. The article discusses the evolution of deployment methods, the advantages of GitOps over traditional practices, and the tools available in the GitOps ecosystem, highlighting the increasing adoption of both pull-based and push-based models in modern software operations.

The white paper discusses the importance of AI observability in managing the complexities and risks associated with modern AI systems, such as hallucinations and non-deterministic behavior. It highlights how traditional monitoring tools fall short and emphasizes the role of Dynatrace in ensuring secure, compliant, and reliable AI deployments.

k0s, a lightweight and fully open-source Kubernetes distribution, has officially joined the CNCF as a Sandbox project, marking a significant milestone in its development. This partnership will enhance collaboration within the cloud-native community and improve Kubernetes usability and accessibility. The k0s project aims to provide an efficient solution for various use cases, from data centers to edge computing environments.