2026 Container Predictions

In 2026, DevOps practitioners will realize the value of OCI registries for more than just container images. We're already seeing common IaC tools support OCI registries for providers and modules. GitOps tooling is starting to support OCI as a first-class source for configuration. As the benefits of this approach become more evident, we'll see more and more tools support or even fully migrate to OCI registries. This will consolidate package distribution for many platforms and programming languages onto a single distribution platform with a single API and a single management plane. - Jason Miller

It's not quite getting buzz yet, but the Kubernetes community has been seriously talking for a few years now about the idea of long-term support of Kubernetes releases. With the increasing use of Kubernetes in classified and other highly-regulated environments, and the increasing complexity and criticality of platforms built on it, watch for this discussion to come sharply into the foreground in 2026. Whether that means the project does less-frequent but longer-supported Kubernetes releases as with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, or specific Ubuntu-style "LTS releases" periodically in the existing rapid-release cycle remains to be seen, but there is already movement in this general direction from some of the major Kubernetes distribution vendors. - Joe Thompson