The platform problem nobody wants to admit
Every Kubernetes team solves the same problems. Scattered Helm charts. Duplicated Terraform modules. Inconsistent tooling across clusters. Teams reinventing the wheel in isolation, building internal developer platforms from scratch when 80% of the foundation is identical.
Artem Lajko has lived this problem — and now he is shipping the solution.
Who is Artem Lajko
Artem is the Head of Platform Engineering at iits-consulting, a published author, Platform Engineering Ambassador, vCluster Ambassador, and one of the most community-driven engineers in the Cloud Native ecosystem.
His track record speaks for itself:
- Hamburg Port Authority — spearheaded Kubernetes platform creation (on-premise and cloud), implemented GitOps at scale with Argo CD, built an Internal Developer Platform with self-service capabilities
- Published author — co-authored “Implementing GitOps with Kubernetes” (Packt) with Pietro Libro, covering multi-tenancy, architectural designs, security, FinOps, and cultural transformation
- Educator — launched a completely free GitOps for Platform Engineering course, because community comes first
- Co-founder of CONNECTii.io — revolutionizing professional networking at tech events
Connect with Artem on LinkedIn.
Kubara: open-source Kubernetes platform framework
Here is the big news: Artem and a team of community-driven engineers are officially launching Kubara at KubeCon EU 2026.
Kubara is an open-source Kubernetes platform framework built entirely on GitOps. It gives teams a shared, production-ready foundation so you stop wasting time solving the same infrastructure problems in isolation.
What Kubara provides
The general distribution is a production-ready baseline you can bootstrap in under 30 minutes:
- Multi-cluster management through ArgoCD with a hub-and-spoke architecture
- Secure secret handling with External Secrets Operator
- Policy enforcement via Kyverno
- GitOps-native — everything declared, versioned, auditable
- Modular — extend or replace any component without vendor lock-in
The key insight: Kubara is not an opinionated stack that forces you into a specific workflow. It is a framework — a shared foundation that teams customize for their needs. Think of it as the 80% that every Kubernetes platform needs, so your team can focus on the 20% that makes yours unique.
Why this matters
The platform engineering space is full of tools. What it lacks is a shared starting point. Every organization building a Kubernetes platform today faces the same bootstrap problem:
- Choose an orchestration tool (ArgoCD, Flux)
- Set up secret management
- Configure policy enforcement
- Build multi-cluster management
- Create developer self-service
- Implement observability
- Handle security scanning
Kubara packages steps 1-7 into a single, community-maintained framework. Instead of spending months building your foundation, you spend 30 minutes bootstrapping it — then invest your time on what actually differentiates your platform.
Community first — always
What makes Artem stand out in the Cloud Native ecosystem is not just his technical depth. It is his relentless commitment to community:
- His GitOps course is free — not freemium, not gated, actually free
- He gives away signed copies of his book at events
- He publicly donated to Cloud Native Rejekts, calling on companies to support community events beyond ROI calculations
- At KubeCon Salt Lake City, his book signing line was so long that security had to shut it down
As Artem puts it: “Community means not always thinking about what you get as return on investment. The real ROI is the relationships we build.”
He also challenges his own profession honestly. His blog post asking “What really separates a true platform team from a managed infrastructure team rebranded as Platform?” forced uncomfortable self-reflection across the industry — inspired by conversations with Abby Bangser.
The book: Implementing GitOps with Kubernetes
If you are serious about GitOps at scale, Artem’s book (co-authored with Pietro Libro) is essential reading. It covers:
- GitOps at Scale and Multi-tenancy — the hard problems most tutorials skip
- Architectural Designs and Operational Control — patterns for production, not demos
- Cultural Transformation — because GitOps is a people change, not just a tool change
- Observability, Security, and FinOps with GitOps — the operational reality
- AI and Future Trends — where GitOps is heading
A second edition is already being discussed, reflecting how fast the ecosystem has evolved since publication.
Catch Artem at KubeCon EU 2026
- 📍 Cloud Native Rejekts — Artem was there yesterday, deeply engaged with the community
- 📍 KubeCon EU 2026 — Find him at Booth B495 (iits-consulting)
- 📖 Book signing — grab a signed copy before they run out (they will)
- 🎒 Spot the pixel backpack — you cannot miss the Divoom pixel bag with the Rejekts logo
Stop by to chat about GitOps, give the team feedback on kubara.io, or just connect with one of the most genuine people in Cloud Native.
This is part of my KubeCon Europe 2026 Leaders series. I will be at KubeCon EU 2026 speaking about Multi-tenant GPUs on Bare Metal OpenShift AI. Check out the full side events guide.
