In-Depth
Get Ready for KubeCon 2024 Salt Lake City
Cloud Native Computing Foundation's (CNCF) flagship conference, KubeCon + CloudNativeCon ("KubeCon"), will be held as a live event (with a virtual option) in Salt Lake City Nov. 12-15, with a pre-event the day before.
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Although it is still a few months away, it is best to register early to get the best pricing, which will be $899 for an all-access individual until pass Aug. 26.
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The KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Only Pass includes entry to KubeCon + CloudNativeCon only. Access will not be granted to CNCF-hosted co-located events. I would suggest looking over these events to see if want to attend them as there are some excellent ones, and if you are interested in any of the these technologies I would highly recommend spending the extra time and money to attend one of them.
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One of the great things about KubeCon is its accessibility to students via its academic pricing ($200). To qualify for this, you will need to be a current full-time student or faculty member. When registering, full-time faculty and students must upload a valid copy of their faculty or student ID.
I have faithfully attended KubeCon since 2016. Although I was sad that I could not participate in last year's event, which was held in Chicago, I am really, really excited to participate in this year's event in SLC for professional and personal reasons.
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For the uninitiated KubeCon gathers Kubernetes (K8S) and container developers, adopters, and technologists from leading open-source and cloud-native communities. Over the years, the conference's size and attendance have exploded.
The first KubeCon I attended was in 2016 in Seattle. This was the second KubeCon and had approximately 1,000 attendees. KubeCon 2019, held in San Diego, had approximately 12,000 attendees just three years later! Only virtual events were held during the pandemic, but at last year's event, approximately 7,500 people attended in person, and 15,000 attended virtually!
The speed of growth of cloud-native technologies and K8s is mind-blowing. K8s has turned the IT world upside down in less than a decade. Even the biggest IT vendors have had to pivot and weave K8s into their core strategies. Keeping up with K8s, its sprawling ecosystem, and the ever-evolving infrastructure is like drinking from a firehose. But at KubeCon, you'll get an idea of where K8s is headed, which will help you and your IT crew stay ahead of the curve.
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One thing I love doing at all conferences, but especially at KubeCon, is walking the floor show. All the major IT vendors will be there flaunting their wares, but the real magic happens with the start-ups. KubeCon is so wallet-friendly to them that even the tiniest start-ups can grab a booth. Over the years, I've watched companies go from a two-person show one year to a bustling 20-strong team the next, only to get scooped up by a major tech player the year after. Chatting with these trailblazers who are crafting the future of K8s is what makes the show floor exciting to me.
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KubeCon isn't just about wandering the show floor—there's a smorgasbord of sessions and keynotes diving into the Cloud Native ecosystem. And for those who want to geek out even more, don't miss the pre-event deep dives a day before the main event. These sessions let you immerse yourself in a specific topic for an entire day, a luxury you don't get with the main event sessions.
KubeCon is the ultimate gathering for K8s and Cloud Native technologies. If you've got even a passing interest in these areas, you can't afford to skip it. While other tech conferences might sprinkle in some K8s content, KubeCon is K8s-central. KubeHeads have been converging at KubeCon for nearly a decade to hash out and often chart the future of these technologies and their ecosystem. Whether you're a user, manager, or just curious about it, this is a must-attend event.
CNFS has been great for holding its conferences in exciting places; this year is no exception. They are meeting in the heart of Salt Lake City at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
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SLC is a modern, clean town with reasonably priced lodging. The SLC airport is the hub for Delta, which accounts for 70 percent of its total traffic, but all major airlines have direct flights to it.
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Personally, I am excited to see that it is being held in Salt Lake City, as I earned my undergraduate degree just up the road in Ogden at The Weber State University. I have always enjoyed the area. I'll write later about exciting things to do in the area.
I hope to see you in Salt Lake in November.
More Information about the event can be found here.
About the Author
Tom Fenton has a wealth of hands-on IT experience gained over the past 30 years in a variety of technologies, with the past 20 years focusing on virtualization and storage. He previously worked as a Technical Marketing Manager for ControlUp. He also previously worked at VMware in Staff and Senior level positions. He has also worked as a Senior Validation Engineer with The Taneja Group, where he headed the Validation Service Lab and was instrumental in starting up its vSphere Virtual Volumes practice. He's on X @vDoppler.