After five years of community research, the data tells a clear story: Data on Kubernetes (DoK) has won. Running data workloads on Kubernetes is now standard practice across industries — the next chapter is about achieving operational excellence.
Based on a global survey of 182 technology professionals, the 2025 report shows that organizations have moved beyond adoption to focus on cost optimization, performance, and AI/ML infrastructure at scale.
Key Findings
DoK Reaches Full Production Maturity
Nearly half of organizations now run 50% or more of their data workloads on Kubernetes in production, with leaders surpassing 75%. Over 60% attribute more than 10% of their company’s revenue to these deployments — clear evidence that DoK has become mission-critical infrastructure.
AI/ML Workloads Are Driving the Next Wave
While databases remain the top workload for the fourth consecutive year, AI/ML workloads have surged to 44% adoption. A remarkable 77% of organizations now view vector databases as critical infrastructure, signaling the rise of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures and real-time data systems.
Cost Optimization Tops 2025 Priorities
For the first time, cost optimization surpasses all other priorities, with 50% of AI/ML-focused organizations citing storage costs as their biggest challenge. Teams are implementing strategies such as GPU utilization optimization, tiered storage, and cross-zone data transfer reduction to control expenses as workloads scale.
The Edge + Real-time Shift
Organizations are re-architecting for real-time and distributed systems: 61% say edge computing is essential to their data strategy. 64% cite real-time data processing as critical to AI success. This marks a decisive move away from centralized, batch-oriented data systems.
Skills and Performance Gaps Remain
Despite maturity, 40% of organizations report a skills gap, and storage I/O performance remains the top bottleneck. Closing these gaps — through better tooling, training, and ecosystem collaboration — will define the next phase of DoK excellence.
Get the Full Report
Download the complete 2025 report to explore:
- The evolution of DoK workloads since 2021
- How organizations are optimizing for AI/ML cost and performance
- Real-world data on productivity, revenue impact, and operational priorities
- Emerging technologies shaping the future of data infrastructure