By Today’s guest on our Prediction Video Series is Ram Iyengar, Chief Evangelist at the Cloud Foundry Foundation (CFF). Iyengar shares his 2025 predictions focusing on emerging trends in compute, AI-specific platforms, and open-source security. As part of the Linux Foundation, the Foundation oversees governance and community management for the Cloud Foundry platform and its ecosystem. Iyengar highlights the Foundation’s role in supporting open-source projects while addressing challenges within the cloud-native landscape.
Iyengar predicts a resurgence of unikernels, small and efficient operating systems optimized for specific applications. Iyengar attributes this to their ability to deliver fast cold-start times and high efficiency, citing recent developments such as Microsoft’s Hyperlight and the growing popularity of Amazon’s Firecracker virtual machines (VMs). Iyengar believes these advancements signal a renewed interest in unikernels, especially as hyperscalers demand scalable and efficient compute solutions.
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The rise of AI-specific platforms is another key prediction. Iyengar foresees a shift toward standardized AI platforms that provide a more seamless and consumable experience for developers. Iyengar notes the current sprawl and lack of clear pathways for maximizing AI investments but expects 2025 to bring more clarity and the emergence of dominant players in the AI platform space to simplify adoption and improve efficiency.
Iyengar highlights significant challenges within the open-source ecosystem, citing supply chain security vulnerabilities and licensing complexities. As open-source adoption grows, so does the potential for targeted supply chain attacks, making robust security measures a critical priority. The expanding Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) ecosystem faces challenges in educating users on best practices and fostering maturity in how its projects are consumed. Cloud Foundry ecosystem’s challenges include balancing legacy priorities while integrating new technologies, requiring a careful approach to ensure seamless interoperability.
Reflecting on his wishlist for the future, Iyengar expresses a desire for greater standardization within the CNCF ecosystem for managing scale and deployments. This would significantly reduce complexity and enhance the usability of cloud-native platforms. Iyengar emphasizes the need for more projects to align with CNCF standards to create a more cohesive and accessible ecosystem.
Cloud Foundry Foundation’s key focuses for 2025 are advancing both the traditional VM-based Cloud Foundry and its cloud-native counterpart, Cloud Foundry Eirini. This approach aims to cater to hybrid workloads, bridging the gap between legacy VM environments and Kubernetes-based deployments. Cloud-native build packs will be another area of significant focus, with Iyengar noting the traction and support they have gained. Iyengar anticipates accelerated growth that will further drive their adoption and utility.
Guest: Ram Iyengar (LinkedIn)
Organization: Cloud Foundry Foundation (CFF)
Show: 2025 Prediction Series
This summary was written by Emily Nicholls.
