Security often feels like a roadblock to developers, but what if it could be seamlessly integrated into the development process? As software delivery becomes increasingly automated and self-service, the traditional approach to security needs a major overhaul.

Danny Allan, CTO at Snyk, shares practical insights on transforming security from a bottleneck into an enabler of developer productivity. Drawing from his extensive experience at IBM, VMware, and Veeam, Allan discusses how security teams can shift left effectively without creating friction.

Key topics covered:

• Building successful security champions programs that cultivate curiosity rather than relying solely on senior developers
• Practical approaches to embedding security controls into development pipelines, from IDE integration to PR checks
• Strategies for measuring security team success beyond just vulnerability counts
• The role of pre-hardened containers and infrastructure-as-code scanning in platform security
• How AI is transforming both code generation and security tooling, including Snyk's approach to vulnerability detection

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Are your platform teams constantly saying "no" to requests for new Kubernetes clusters? The traditional approach to Kubernetes multi-tenancy forces organizations to choose between cluster sprawl or restrictive namespaces - neither of which fully meets the needs of modern development teams.

Lukas Gentele, CEO and co-founder of Loft Labs, shares how vCluster is transforming the way organizations handle multi-tenancy in Kubernetes. By running virtual Kubernetes control planes inside namespaces, vCluster enables teams to experiment with different versions, operators, and configurations while maintaining efficient resource usage.

Key topics covered:

• How vCluster solves the limitations of namespace-based multi-tenancy
• Running multiple Kubernetes versions in the same cluster for testing and gradual upgrades
• Managing bare metal GPU resources efficiently for AI/ML workloads
• Balancing standardization with developer autonomy in platform engineering
• Using virtual clusters for cost-effective testing across multiple Kubernetes versions

Whether you're a platform engineer looking to say "yes" more often or a development team seeking greater autonomy within Kubernetes, this discussion offers practical insights into modern multi-tenancy approaches.

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When organizations grow beyond using third-party platforms, they face a critical challenge: how to build internal platforms that enable teams to work efficiently while maintaining security and compliance. Abby Bangser, founding principal engineer at Syntasso, shares insights on creating real-world platforms that strike the right balance between standardization and flexibility.

Key Insights

• The shift from external platforms to internal ones often comes from specific business needs, like compliance requirements
• Successful platform engineering requires finding the right balance between prescriptive standards and flexible customization
• Platforms should offer multiple levels of abstraction - from simplified "paved paths" to advanced customization options
• Platform teams should watch how users interact with their services to identify emerging patterns and needs

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