Use of Kubernetes is close to 100% within the cloud-native community, with 96% of organizations using or evaluating the technology, according to the 2021 Cloud Native Survey.

But there are barriers to adoption, with a big one being the lack of trained Kubernetes engineers. Close to 50% of respondents to the Canonical 2022 “Kubernetes and Cloud-Native Operations” report said that lack of in-house skills and limited manpower are stopping them using Kubernetes and containers. Just how eager people are to learn Kubernetes was demonstrated at last year’s KubeCon + CloudNativeCon, when the Kasten by Veeam KubeCampus team organized a Kubernetes learning day as a co-located event.

“We were hoping to get 60 people together in a room,” said Tom Leyden (pictured, right), vice president marketing Kasten by Veeam Software Inc. “We had over 350 people. There were people at the venue one hour before we started because they did not want to miss it.”

Leyden and Victoria Avseeva (left) senior manager of digital experience and design at Kasten by Veeam, spoke with theCUBE industry analysts Lisa Martin and Savannah Peterson at the recent KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA 2022, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the need for Kubernetes education and Kasten by Veeam’s KubeCampus free Kubernetes training. (* Disclosure below.)

KubeCampus ‘has your back’ for rookie Kubernetes training

KubeCampus started as a small learning page within the Kasten.io website that provided three very basic hands-on Kubernetes training labs.

“One was to learn how to install Kubernetes, one was to build a first application on Kubernetes, and then a third one was to learn how to back up and restore your application,” recalled Layden.

Demand was so great that Kasten decided the training needed to be separated from their branding and expanded as its own community. Although it has separated from the Kasten by Veeam brand, the training is still completely free and is the only Kubernetes learning platform that provides hands-on labs, according to Leyden.

Content has also increased, with one lab a month added over the past year to make a total of 14 labs at rookie, intermediate and expert levels, covering topics such as storage and applications in Kubernetes, security, troubleshooting, networking fundamentals, observability and application consistency.

“The next step for the labs is going to be to involve other partners and have them bring their technologies in the lab,” Leyden said.

Over the past year, KubeCampus has seen over 11,000 students take more than 7,000 labs, according to Avseeva. That’s 3.29 labs per student, she pointed out.

“It’s the number one free Kubernetes learning platform,” she said. “If you’re starting from scratch, don’t be afraid. We’ve got your back.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA 2022 event:

(* Disclosure: This is an unsponsored editorial segment. However, theCUBE is a paid media partner for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA 2022. Sponsors of theCUBE’s event coverage have no editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE