Kubernetes has gotten too complicated? with Gerrit Schumann from mogenius |???#56

Ever feel like Kubernetes is just... too much? You're not alone! This time we're asking the tough questions: Has cloud-native infrastructure, especially Kubernetes, become unnecessarily complex? Is it really fair to expect every developer to become a Kubernetes guru? What's the cost of this complexity?

We're diving into insights from Gerrit Schumann of mogenius , exploring why this complexity is happening. Are we drowning in a sea of ever-evolving tech? Is there a better way? Can self-service platforms actually simplify things? And most importantly, what can we do about it?

Join us in this new episode while we are waiting for mogenius v2 release very soon this March, which will bring a powerful new Kubernetes Manager for development teams

In this episode:

• How organizations balance DevOps to developers collaboration?
• The role of specialized tools;
• How should managers set up their teams nowadays?
• The place of platform engineering;
• What will be the future for infra teams?
• Widening the gap between developers and operations.

You can listen to episode 56 of DevOps Accents on Spotify, or YouTube right now:

Balancing DevOps and Development: Insights from Gerrit Schumann

As cloud-native technologies continue to evolve, companies are faced with an ongoing challenge: balancing the needs of developers with the stability and governance required by operations teams. Gerrit Schumann, co-founder and CEO of mogenius, has spent years working at this intersection. With extensive experience in software development, business strategy, and Kubernetes environments, he understands firsthand how organizations struggle to manage the growing complexity of infrastructure.

In a recent discussion, Schumann shared his thoughts on the state of DevOps, the role of platform engineering, and how companies should structure their teams to keep up with rapid technological change.

The Ever-Changing Relationship Between Developers and Operations

Schumann highlighted a key issue in modern DevOps: the industry is still in a state of transformation. While some organizations have fully automated CI/CD pipelines and streamlined infrastructure as code, many are still catching up. The ideal scenario—where everything is templated, automated, and self-service—is often far from reality.

According to Schumann, most companies are navigating a middle ground, where legacy processes mix with modern cloud-native practices. “There’s a huge number of teams that are still in the transformation stage,” he explained. “It’s not just about having the right tools; it’s about the team’s knowledge, expertise, and the legacy systems they’re working with.”

This means that collaboration between developers and operations remains a work in progress. While developers want fast, flexible environments to test and deploy their code, operations teams are responsible for governance, security, and cost efficiency. The key is finding a balance between autonomy and control.

How Specialized Tools Can Reduce Complexity

One of the ways companies are managing this balance is through specialized tools that simplify infrastructure management. Schumann’s company, mogenius, focuses on creating self-service platforms that allow developers to work more efficiently within company policies. “We try to make Kubernetes as an operational task more intuitive and efficient,” he said. “It’s about reducing complexity so that developers don’t have to spend too much time dealing with infrastructure.”

Schumann believes that modern DevOps tooling should focus on:

• Granular access control – Ensuring that developers can see and modify only what’s necessary for their role.
• Reducing cognitive load – Simplifying the interface between developers and infrastructure so that routine tasks don’t become bottlenecks.
• Automation and self-service – Giving developers the ability to troubleshoot and deploy without constantly needing operations support.

The challenge, however, is that many companies rely on fragmented tools that don’t integrate well. “You can use as many tools as you’d like, but the key is to reduce the overall complexity and cognitive load for development teams,” Schumann noted.

How Should Managers Structure Their Teams Today?

With the increasing complexity of cloud-native infrastructure, how should managers organize their teams? Some argue that every developer should learn Kubernetes and infrastructure management, while others believe DevOps should remain a specialized function. Schumann suggests a different approach: investing in platform engineering.

“Instead of saying, ‘We need more hands on deck,’ organizations should focus on creating structured policies, documentation, and self-service platforms,” he said. “The goal should be to streamline processes and enable developers to work efficiently without making them infrastructure experts.”

This approach allows companies to delegate tasks effectively. Developers should have enough operational knowledge to manage their workloads, but infrastructure teams should still maintain governance and security.

The result? Less time spent on support tickets, fewer delays, and more time for DevOps engineers to focus on automation and strategic improvements rather than troubleshooting.

The Future of Infrastructure Teams

Looking ahead, Schumann envisions a future where infrastructure teams shift away from manual operations and focus more on automation. “Most DevOps teams say they can’t get to strategic tasks because they’re busy managing tickets and fixing issues,” he pointed out. “That’s going to change.”

He predicts that:

• AI-driven automation will play a bigger role – Routine tasks will be handled by intelligent systems, reducing the need for manual intervention.
• Platform engineering will continue to grow – Companies will rely more on internal developer platforms to standardize workflows.
• DevOps will remain essential, but evolve – While automation will reduce repetitive work, infrastructure teams will still be needed to oversee governance, security, and architecture.

However, Schumann is cautious about predicting a fully automated future. “We still see banks running mainframes from decades ago. Transformation takes time,” he said. “While automation and AI will take over many tasks, DevOps teams will continue to be a crucial part of modern software development.”

Are We Widening the Gap Between Developers and Operations?

One of the biggest concerns in the DevOps world today is whether the increasing complexity of cloud-native infrastructure is widening the gap between developers and operations teams. Schumann acknowledges this trend but believes the solution lies in better delegation.

“There’s definitely a widening gap because of the cloud-native toolchain,” he said. “But instead of trying to turn every developer into an operations expert, we should focus on enabling self-service and structured automation.”

This approach ensures that developers can stay focused on building products while operations teams maintain control over governance and security. The key is finding the right balance—one that avoids bottlenecks but doesn’t create chaos.

Conclusion

Gerrit Schumann’s insights paint a clear picture of the evolving DevOps landscape. While automation and platform engineering are transforming infrastructure management, organizations must be strategic in how they structure their teams. By focusing on self-service, automation, and thoughtful delegation, companies can bridge the gap between developers and operations while improving overall efficiency.

For those looking to dive deeper into these topics, Schumann encourages discussion. “We’re always happy to talk more about DevOps and platform engineering,” he said. His company, mogenius soon releases mogenius v2 which will bring a powerful new Kubernetes Manager for development teams, and we ate mkdev offer upskilling your team and Kubernetes infrastructure audits to reduce complexities, optimize workload and performance for your team and cloud environment. Call us. As cloud-native complexity continues to grow, the companies that adapt their DevOps strategies wisely will be the ones that thrive.