Should application developers learn Kubernetes? Let’s ask an even deeper question; should application developers even be aware of Kubernetes in their infrastructure? I frequently hear this question being asked by DevOps, Platform Engineering, and Development teams. Of course, this is a discussion that brings very different views from different people and can result in a very long debate.

In a previous article, we discussed why we frequently hear that developers are not that keen on Kubernetes. You can read it here. In summary, while developers certainly see the value of Kubernetes, they want to continue focusing on their application code and updates and not be impacted by the company’s Kubernetes initiative, which is quite fair.

Over the last few months, I’ve been listening and involved in conversations about Kubernetes (k8s) and trying to identify the common topics that creates debate on whether it’s a “good” or “bad” idea. There are sensible points of view on both sides of the debate.

Looking back at my years working with infrastructure and going through it’s changes, I believe its time we start to rethink Operations because clearly this model of Ops as cluster or infrastructure admins does not scale. Developers will always out-demand their capacity to supply. Either your headcount is out of control or your ability to innovate and deliver is severely hamstrung. Operations becomes this interrupt-driven thing where we’re just fighting fires as they happen.