New research reveals 70% of Kubernetes clusters become neglected within 18 months of deployment - a $9.2B cloud waste problem annually. Paradoxically, Kubernetes adoption continues growing (92% enterprise usage in 2025), with companies like Apple and OpenAI running massive node clusters. By dev engineer.
However, mid-sized organizations particularly struggle with:
- Observability gaps causing “black box” operations
- Multi-team access creating configuration drift
- Persistent storage accumulating like digital hoarding
The article warns that default Kubernetes settings encourage resource bloat, recommending:
- Automated cluster expiration dates
- Namespace quotas with hard deletion policies
- Service mesh integration for usage tracking
- Cross-functional platform teams to maintain ownership
Platform engineering leaders report 40% reduction in zombie clusters after implementing these measures. However, the author cautions that Kubernetes’ flexibility remains a double-edged sword - proper governance must evolve alongside cluster deployments. Good read!
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