Kubernetes
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It provides a framework for running distributed systems resiliently, handling tasks like load balancing, storage orchestration, and self-healing. Originally developed by Google and now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), it has become the de facto standard for container orchestration in cloud-native environments.
Developers should learn Kubernetes when building scalable, resilient microservices or cloud-native applications that require automated deployment, scaling, and management across multiple hosts. It is essential for DevOps and platform engineering roles, particularly in environments using Docker containers, as it simplifies operations like rolling updates, service discovery, and resource optimization. Use cases include managing large-scale web applications, data processing pipelines, and hybrid or multi-cloud deployments where consistency and portability are critical.