AI Runs on Cloud Native Infrastructure
20 Aug 2025 |Christophe Sauthier, Cloud Native Training and Certification Lead at Cloud Native Computing Foundation
As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes industries and workflows, the focus on AI-specific tools often overshadows a more foundational truth: success with AI workloads hinges not only on data science expertise, but also on cloud native fluency. Behind every high-performing AI system is a distributed infrastructure that must be architectured, deployed, orchestrated, monitored, secured, and operated. These operational competencies can be honed through training, education, and certifications to further a solid foundation of cloud native skills that are core to the AI-powered future.
AI adoption is surging, yet the talent pipeline is struggling to keep pace at the same rate. According to McKinsey, there are over 4.2 million unfilled roles in AI-related fields, but only around 320,000 qualified professionals globally. In India, the gap is especially pressing. ByIn 2027, Bain & Company found the country is projected to face a deficit of 1.1 million AI-skilled professionals, with demand far outstripping supply. But the answer to this challenge may not lie in building an entirely new AI-knowledgeable workforce. Instead, it lies in recognizing that professionals already skilled in Kubernetes, observability, GitOps, Platform Engineering and cloud native operations are well-positioned to lead the next wave of AI innovation.
