The Week That Redefined My Next Steps, KubeCon 2025 Atlanta

KubeCon 2026 in Atlanta felt like stepping into a living organism made of ideas, conversations, and the unmistakable hum of a community that never stops building. The moment I walked into the venue, the energy was electric, thousands of engineers, architects, developers, creators, and dreamers all tuning into one frequency, what’s next for cloud-native?

The experience, a week powered by curiosity

Every day felt like an extended masterclass. The keynotes this year had that rare balance of inspiration and practicality. The CNCF updates on platform engineering maturity, the deep dives into multi-cluster resilience, and the forward-looking conversations around cost-aware orchestration all hit home. I especially enjoyed the talks that explored AI-enhanced Kubernetes operations not as hype, but as real production lessons.

The heart of the trip , time with my KCD family

One of the most meaningful parts of this entire KubeCon trip was finally spending time in person with the friends who work with me all year on KCD Texas, Austin - May 15, 2026 . These aren’t just community partners , they’re people I’ve grown genuinely close to through late-night planning sessions, shared stress, shared excitement, and the kind of teamwork that slowly turns into friendship.

Meeting Rafael Brito , Mars Toktonaliev , Mara Ruvalcaba , Richard Boyd, II , Eddie Wassef and the rest of our crew felt like a small reunion we’d all been waiting for. The conference gave us the perfect excuse to slow down for once, step away from the Slack channels and calendars, and just be together.

Our dinner together was one of those moments you don’t forget easily. A table full of people who care about each other, who support each other, and who have built something real together, not just an event, but a sense of belonging. We talked about life, family, the funny moments from organizing meetups, and the stories you can only share when you’re comfortable with the people around you.

There was a lot of laughter, a lot of warmth, and that quiet feeling you get when you know you’re sitting with the right people, the people who show up for you, who understand your passion, and who share the same love for community.

These friendships are the real reason KCD Texas has grown the way it has. It’s built on trust, on shared effort, and on this genuine connection we’ve created over time. KubeCon just gave us the chance to celebrate that.

I came back from Atlanta feeling lighter, happier, and incredibly grateful for this little KCD family we’ve formed. That’s the kind of love that makes all of this worth it, and the kind of love you carry into next year’s work with even more energy.

The Atlanta vibe

Atlanta was the perfect host, lively, bright, and full of character. The food, the downtown buzz, the late-night technical debates over coffee, the way the conference city transforms into a global innovation hub for a week, it all wove together into one big creative spark.

How this shapes KCD Texas 2026

Being at KubeCon always resets my mental compass. Seeing how the CNCF community organizes, curates content, nurtures newcomers, and amplifies maintainers gives me fresh fuel for our own KCD in Texas next year.

A few immediate takeaways,

• More focus on story-driven technical talks, not just demos.
• Create more spaces for cross-team and cross-company collaboration, the kind that naturally happens at KubeCon.
• Bring that same welcoming energy to first-time speakers and first-time attendees.

This trip gave me so many ideas on how we can raise the bar, and I can’t wait to bring that spirit into the Austin community.

Time at the WSO2 booths, AI Gateway, Agent Security, Identity Management, Choreo, and the people behind the tech

One of the best parts of my KubeCon 2026 journey was spending real time with my WSO2 colleagues at our WSO2 AI Gateway booth and the Choreo booth. Conferences are always about technology, but booths remind you that technology is built by people, curious, passionate, slightly sleep-deprived people who love what they’re creating.

There was something energizing about watching attendees walk up, ask a question, and suddenly realize the potential of what we’ve been building. The AI Gateway demos drew a steady stream of architects and platform engineers trying to solve real problems around secure AI adoption, model governance, and multi-agent orchestration. Seeing their reactions, that “wait… show me that again” moment, made every late-night debugging session worth it.

The Choreo booth had its own momentum. Teams were hungry for a unified developer experience, and the conversations were rich, API-first thinking, integration challenges, deployment pipelines, event streams, and the growing need for automation that still feels human. People were impressed by how far the platform has come, and it felt good to stand there representing something that actually solves real-world friction.

But more than the tech, the people made it special. Hanging out with colleagues, laughing between sessions, exchanging stories from customer engagements, and proudly talking about what our teams have built, it reminded me why I love working with WSO2. Everyone brought their own spark, and together we created a booth atmosphere that felt alive.

A heartfelt thanks to every single WSO2 teammate who worked the booths, ran demos, answered questions, or simply kept the energy going. You represented us beautifully, and I’m grateful I got to stand there with you. These are the moments that deepen trust, strengthen teams, and make the next year feel even more promising.

Congratulations to Rafa and Chad, A Shared Milestone in the Kubernetes Community

I also want to celebrate a huge moment for Rafa and Chad, who together published their second Kubernetes book, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect, landing right on the week of KubeCon 2025. This achievement felt special not just for them, but for everyone who has seen their dedication up close.

Both of them have poured countless hours into building, teaching, and uplifting the cloud-native community. Seeing their collaboration turn into a published book something people can learn from, reference, and build upon was a proud moment for all of us who know them.

A huge congratulations to both of them not just for writing a book, but for showing what real friendship, mentorship, and community effort can create.

Gratitude, the heart of the trip

A huge appreciation to WSO2, whose support made this entire experience possible. I’m especially grateful to Asanka Abeysinghe , our CTO, for giving me the opportunity to represent WSO2 in the middle of one of the most influential tech gatherings in the world.

Thanks to Chad, my first guide in austin

I also want to give a very heartfelt thanks to Chad M. Crowell , who was my first real guide and mentor when I stepped into the Austin tech community. So much of my journey here from joining meetups to helping shape KCD Austin, began because he opened that door for me and encouraged me to walk through it with confidence.

Even though he has now moved to Spain, his influence is still very present. I missed him at KubeCon this year, it felt a little strange not having him around, especially knowing how much we worked side by side during the last KCD Austin. Those memories still lift me up: the planning, the late night Slack messages, the good laughs, and the way everything came together because he cared deeply about the community.

I’m hopeful that he’ll be able to join us again for KCD Texas, Austin - May 15, 2026 . It wouldn’t feel complete without him. No matter where he is in the world, he continues to be a steady source of inspiration and a true friend someone whose support shaped my path in a way I will always appreciate.

Special thanks to CNCF and to the people who keep this community thriving

KubeCon only becomes KubeCon because of the people who quietly and sometimes loudly keep the global cloud-native engine running. I want to give a heartfelt thanks to the CNCF and especially two individuals whose work shapes so much of what we experience each year.

Chris Aniszczyk (CTO, CNCF)

Chris has been one of the strongest voices pushing the cloud-native ecosystem forward, and you can feel his influence throughout the event. His leadership touches everything: project governance, open-source maturity, contributor experience, and the long-term health of the CNCF ecosystem.

He’s one of the reasons KubeCon feels like a home for architects, students, maintainers, and first-time contributors alike. The emphasis on openness, technical depth, and community culture traces back to the tone Chris sets as CTO. His support for local communities including KCD chapters worldwide keeps the movement grounded in real people, not just big companies.

Audra Montenegro (Community Outreach Manager, CNCF)

Audra is one of the key forces behind the scenes who keeps the CNCF community connected, visible, and growing. Her outreach work supports everything from meetups and regional KCD events to contributor programs, diversity initiatives, and the bridges that help new people enter the ecosystem.

For those of us organizing events like KCD Austin, her guidance and support make a huge difference. The CNCF’s ability to empower local organizers comes directly from the kind of thoughtful, inclusive community work that Audra leads. It’s the human side of cloud-native making sure people feel welcome, seen, and part of something bigger.

Together, Chris and Audra represent the spirit that makes the CNCF community special, a mix of innovation, generosity, and relentless openness.

Their leadership keeps the cloud-native world vibrant, and their work continues to inspire what we build locally in Austin and beyond.

To everyone I met, to everyone who shared their work, and to all the people who stopped to chat, thank you. You made this trip unforgettable.

A big thanks to all the sponsors who powered this year’s KubeCon

A heartfelt thank you to all the sponsors listed below. Your support doesn’t just keep the lights on, it fuels innovation, education, community outreach, open-source contributions, and the thousands of meaningful conversations that happen during the conference. Every booth, every demo, every hallway chat exists because sponsors believe in this community and invest in it.

I had the chance to walk through the sponsor pavilion many times, and the energy there was unmatched, from big platform providers showcasing what’s next, to smaller teams solving hyper-specific pains, to companies pushing boundaries in security, observability, and developer experience. It’s a reminder that cloud-native is both a massive global movement and a collection of tiny, brilliant ideas.

Your participation helps people like me bring that spark back home, to Austin, to our KCD events, to our meetups, and to everyone in our local ecosystem who benefits from the ripple effects.

Thank you for showing up, thank you for sharing your work, and thank you for helping make KubeCon 2026 an unforgettable experience.