There is a direct connection between running advanced cloud-native data workloads on Kubernetes and increases in revenue, margin, market share, and productivity, according to Data on Kubernetes Community (DoKC) Director Melissa Logan. "The more advanced, the greater the gains," she told SDxCentral.

In its second annual report, DoKC and independent research firm Clearpath Strategies reached more than 500 Kubernetes users running data workloads at their organization in an effort to identify the beneficial impacts of doing so and build a roadmap for others to follow.

The research found 83% of respondents credit more than 10% of their organization's revenue to running data on Kubernetes (DoK), and a third of respondents reported a twofold increase in productivity as a result of DoK. The report noted these benefits aren't tied to the technological maturity of the company.

"It was astounding to see that running DoK has a transformative impact on every organization, regardless of an organization's maturity," Logan said.

She also highlighted a "surprising" shift in workloads. "Organizations are bringing many of their most complex workloads to Kubernetes starting with databases first," followed by analytics – up from No. 6 last year – and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) in No. 3 – up from last place.

"The report makes it clear: DoK is seen by industry leaders as a key element in the health of their business," Logan said.

Despite the promises of running data workloads on Kubernetes, IT leaders need to remember the DoK ecosystem is still in its early days. It has ample room for maturation and plenty of challenges that need solving, Logan said.

The top challenge identified by the report in 2022 and 2021 is a lack of integration with existing tools, and "there are no standards for key tools like the Kubernetes operators that people rely on for day-two DoK operations," Logan explained.

What's more, respondents are relying on an average of 20 different operators, and security is the most important deal breaker in operator selection. Both annual reports also highlighted issues with interoperability and quality, she added.

On the bright side, the report revealed high demand for skilled DoK jobs, with nearly half of respondents planning to upskill or hire in the next three to six months. To that point, Logan touted the DoKC as a "fantastic place to learn and connect with your peers."