KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2025

Hi everyone, my name is Bailey Ahrens, and I’m a marketing intern at Speedscale! I just returned a few days ago from KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2025. While it was only my second trade show, it felt like a huge step forward in my confidence, skills, and future direction.

My first conference (API World) was all about stepping outside my comfort zone. KubeCon was where I started leaning into that confidence and finding my place in the tech community.

What an incredible, high-energy week it was, diving deep into the future of open source and cloud native computing. Seeing the scale of innovation and hearing directly from the architects driving the next generation of infrastructure felt like a monumental leap forward in my journey as a marketer in tech. This experience isn’t just professional development; it is truly enhancing my experience by allowing me to connect the most complex technical challenges with our company’s practical solutions in real time. The focus here was entirely on collaborative, cutting-edge problem-solving, and I left with a mindset ready to reshape our entire approach.

Standing Taller the Second Time Around

Walking into a massive conference center packed with founders, engineers, and people who casually say things like “my CPU performance battery is tanking” is always a little intimidating. Like, don’t even start that CPU conversation with me.

But this time, instead of freezing like a buffering Zoom call, I actually felt ready. Maybe it was the second-trade-show confidence or maybe I just had enough caffeine; either way, it worked.

I caught myself jumping into conversations without the “should I…?” hesitation. I was asking questions that made sense, nodding at technical terms I actually recognized, and explaining what Speedscale does. Not to mention I was giving away t-shirts like it was candy.

Experience really does matter, and now, I can proudly say I have successfully run 2 trade shows.

Meeting More Marketers = More Clarity on My Career Path

One of my personal goals for KubeCon was to talk to other marketers and learn about what they do. Those conversations turned out to be some of the most valuable of the week. These were people who figured out how to translate deeply technical products into stories that make sense, something I’m quickly realizing is a superpower.

I learned that marketing in tech isn’t just one lane. There’s product marketing, field marketing, developer marketing, and so many more paths I didn’t even know existed.

Hearing how they found their niche helped me picture mine. I’m increasingly drawn to that perfect mix of technical curiosity and storytelling, helping a product shine not just because of what it does, but because of why it matters. And that realization felt like a big career “aha!” moment. That realization has me even more energized for post-graduation opportunities.

Decoding the Cloud Native Future: Three Major Trends

The shift we’re seeing in the ecosystem is dramatic, and the major learning for us is that technology boundaries are rapidly dissolving.

Specifically, the amount of buzz and dedicated tracks around Cloud Native AI Day & MLOps was astounding. It is clearer than ever that AI is no longer a separate application layer; it’s an intrinsic component of the cloud native stack. Conversations revolved heavily around managing the data gravity and scale required for sophisticated machine learning models running on Kubernetes, and how we can use existing CNCF tools like Kubeflow to create seamless, automated pipelines. This is where we need to focus our narrative showing how our technology helps engineers move models from testing to production with Kubernetes-native resilience and security built in.

Beyond AI, the continued ascent of Platform Engineering was perhaps the most strategically significant takeaway. The discussions during Platform Engineering Day and throughout the breakouts demonstrated that internal developer platforms are no longer aspirational they are a mandatory operational model for high-performing organizations. The industry is moving past just integrating tools; they are building cohesive, managed internal products designed for exceptional developer experience. Our content needs to speak less about the individual feature set of our solutions and more about the outcome reduced cognitive load for developers, improved DORA metrics, and the ease of building a compliant, self-service platform. This is the new language of infrastructure leadership.

Finally, you couldn’t walk ten feet without bumping into a conversation about Security and Observability. With the complexity introduced by AI and platform building, the need for deep, unified visibility and immutable security is paramount. The sessions at Open Source SecurityCon and Observability Day highlighted the urgent need for better supply chain security, zero-trust models implemented at the service mesh layer, and unified runtime visibility. This confirms that our current efforts to integrate security capabilities and offer deeper tracing are exactly what the market is demanding, and we need to communicate that value proposition even louder.

Memories That Made the Week Special

There were so many moments at KubeCon that made the week feel bigger than “just another work trip.” Seeing our booth design and branding come to life again was such a full-circle moment. And I definitely wasn’t expecting to run into a few familiar faces who recognized us from API World. Talk about a small-tech-world moment. It made me realize how quickly these relationships start to build and how exciting it is to already have people cheering us on.

Then there were the little things that made the trip unforgettable: inside jokes with my team, wandering around the city after the expo floor closed, and getting to see all of the other companies at the conference as well. I genuinely felt like I belonged in those conversations with experts, swapping ideas and laughing along like I’d been doing this for years. Every single interaction just reminded me how welcoming and collaborative this community truly is.

I also have to brag on our team a little; the energy at our booth was unmatched. We weren’t just handing out shirts and pointing at a monitor; we were having real, technical conversations with hundreds of people who were eager to learn. The Solutions Showcase was buzzing, and seeing attendees connect what they had learned in sessions to what we were showing them was such a win. That kind of authentic engagement, where people leave excited instead of just carrying swag, is the best reminder of why these conferences matter.

Bringing It Back Home

Coming back from KubeCon, my brain felt like it had 47 tabs open, in a good way. I left with so many ideas, conversations, and insights that I couldn’t wait to bring back to the team. One of my biggest priorities now is channeling all of that momentum into stronger messaging and smarter marketing for Speedscale. I’m already revisiting the way we explain what we do, how we connect with engineers, and the stories we highlight. It feels a little like upgrading from Marketing Intern 1.0 to Marketing Intern 2.0.

I’m also taking time to follow up with the people who shared advice, guidance, or genuine curiosity about our work. Those conversations didn’t end at the booth; they’re turning into LinkedIn connections, follow-up chats, and email exchanges that I know will matter down the line. A big part of growing in this industry is staying connected, and I’m realizing I actually enjoy that part way more than I expected.

What’s surprised me most is how different this second trade show felt from the first. The growth was real from how I talked to the confidence I carried to the way I jumped into conversations I might’ve avoided a few months ago. And now, instead of feeling drained afterward, I feel energized for whatever comes next.

And speaking of “next,” I’m putting these lessons into action right away. Not in a “write a quick recap and call it a day” way, I mean, actually shifting our content strategy. My biggest takeaway is that the cloud-native world is desperate for clear, practical education, so that’s where I’m steering us. I’m working on how-to content around MLOps on Kubernetes, building case studies that highlight real ROI for platform teams, and diving into communities around emerging tech so our messaging stays ahead of the curve. If KubeCon taught me anything, it’s that Speedscale has a real opportunity to become a go-to resource for these cloud-native shifts, and I’m excited to help push us in that direction.

Thank You

A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to chat with me, whether it was a deep conversation about marketing in tech or just a quick “hey, how’s your week going?”. Every person who shared advice, talked about their own career path, or helped me understand the Kubernetes/cloud-native space a little better genuinely made an impact. It’s easy to feel like the new kid at events like this, but so many people welcomed me in without hesitation. That kind of kindness sticks with you.

And of course, the biggest thank you goes to the Speedscale team. You all trusted me to represent our brand, gave me room to grow, and supported me every step of the way. Getting to be part of these events so early in my career is something I don’t take lightly; it’s shaping me into the professional I want to become. Knowing I have a team behind me that believes in me (even when I’m still learning everything at lightning speed) means the absolute world.

Here’s to more growth, more connections, and many conferences to come.