By Ram Iyengar, Chief Evangelist - Cloud Foundry Foundation

Remember those lean, mean, single-purpose operating systems we used to talk about? Yeah, unikernels. They're back, and they're better than ever in something of a Back to the Future movement.

Unikernels, which are lightweight and library-based operating systems, are making a resurgence. With cloud providers like Microsoft and AWS introducing technologies like Hyperlight and Firecracker, respectively, the focus is shifting towards faster boot times and reduced cold start latency. As hyperscalers push the boundaries of virtualization, we're seeing a renewed interest in these atomic and highly-efficient operating systems. Unikernels, known for their lightning-fast startup times, are well-positioned to capitalize on this trend. This offers infrastructure engineers a diverse range of options to optimize their deployments.

Why the hype? Well, unikernels are the ultimate performance junkies. They boot up in milliseconds, making them perfect for serverless functions, microservices, and edge computing. This lightning-fast startup time is a game-changer, especially for applications that need to scale quickly or respond to real-time events.

Next, let's talk about platform engineering - the new hotness - with internal developer platforms taking center stage. The message of abstracting away the complexity of infrastructure and deployment, empowering developers to focus on what they do best is really resonating with software engineering teams of all kinds.

Platform engineering is gaining significant traction in enterprises and small teams alike as organizations grapple with the increasing complexity of their technology stacks. Platform engineering teams are emerging to streamline development and deployment processes despite significant investment and large budgets required.

Further, AI is also making its mark on platform engineering - or maybe the other way around. On the one hand, tools are bringing the power of machine learning to infrastructure automation, making it easier to manage complex systems at scale. Imagine self-healing infrastructure, predictive maintenance, and automated anomaly detection. It's a not-so-distant future where infrastructure is more intelligent and less hands-on.

On the other hand, the rise of specialized AI platforms like Kubeflow and Flyte will further accelerate the trend of making platforms available for enabling organizations to standardize AI tooling and empower teams to work more efficiently with their AI sprawl.

Finally, security. Securing open source software is like trying to secure a house with paper walls and a skeleton key.

Open-source software is the backbone of any modern tech stack. As we increasingly rely on open-source components, it's imperative to secure the supply chain.

The security of open-source software supply chains is a critical concern. As open-source software continues to power the digital world, securing its integrity is paramount. By focusing on the security of open-source dependencies, libraries, and platforms, organizations can significantly enhance the overall security posture of their software applications.

Vulnerabilities in open-source libraries can have far-reaching consequences, exposing organizations to cyberattacks. To address this challenge, we need to invest in tools and processes that can identify and mitigate risks. This includes automated vulnerability scanning, secure software development practices:, and supply chain transparency.

Looking forward to all that 2025 brings our way.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ram Iyengar is an engineer by practice and an educator at heart. He was (cf) pushed into technology evangelism along his journey as a developer and hasn't looked back since! He enjoys helping engineering teams around the world discover new and creative ways to work. He is a proponent of community-first product development.