Custom Operators & The Reality of Self-Hosted K8s
AGENDA
16:30: Doors open
17:00: Welcome by Cloud Native Aalborg
17:10: Welcome by our host CEGO
17:15: "Inside Saxo Service Blueprint: Implementing Kubernetes Operators for Legacy Enterprise Infrastructure" by Oskar Kristiansen @Saxo Bank
18:00: Break with food
18:30: "We Broke Free From Cloud-Managed Kubernetes: Now What?" by Per Hedegaard Christiansen @Saxo Bank and Kārlis Akots Gribulis @Saxo Bank
19:00: Networking
20:00: Doors close
Talk #1 Inside Saxo Service Blueprint: Implementing Kubernetes Operators for Legacy Enterprise Infrastructure
At Saxo Bank, we built Saxo Service Blueprint as a set of Kubernetes operators that manage critical infrastructure dependencies such as DNS, certificates, load balancers, and access controls for applications running on traditional virtual machines outside Kubernetes, and for provisioning dependencies for cloud-native workloads.
This session focuses on the technical implementation of the system. We will walk through how legacy infrastructure is modeled using Custom Resource Definitions, how reconciliation logic coordinates Kubernetes state with external systems, and how the operators handle idempotency, ordering, failure recovery, and partial state across multiple infrastructure domains. The talk covers key architectural decisions, controller patterns, and the use of Git as a strict source of truth for driving infrastructure changes.
Attendees will gain practical insight into designing and operating Kubernetes operators that interact with existing enterprise platforms, and into the challenges of running these controllers reliably at scale in complex environments.
Bio: Oskar Kristiansen is Platform Engineer. Passionate about Cloud Native open source technologies, and their application in business. Kubestronaut.
Talk #2 We Broke Free From Cloud-Managed Kubernetes: Now What?
Have you ever wondered what happens after moving from cloud-managed Kubernetes to self-hosted clusters? One year into Saxo Bank’s journey, we’re sharing the full story: what worked, what surprised us, and what we would do differently.
In this talk, you’ll hear about:
Did things just work? Was it possible to migrate large-scale workloads? Did we actually manage to get 80% cost reduction? Lessons learned around resilience, automation, and lifecycle management with kubeadm + Cluster API. Attendees will leave with a realistic understanding of the trade-offs, risks, and benefits of self-hosted Kubernetes at scale, plus actionable insights for planning and operating their own clusters.
Bio: Per Hedegaard Christiansen is passionate about container technology and always eager to explore new tech stacks. With extensive experience in Docker, Kubernetes, and microservices, he design and optimize scalable, secure container environments.
Kārlis Akots Gribulis has hands-on experience working across various companies in the cloud-native space. Throughout his career, he has been deeply involved in deploying, managing, and optimizing Kubernetes clusters, helping organizations harness the full power of cloud-native technologies.
Parking Information
If you are driving to the meetup, parking is available in Parking Area #3232, located on the west side of the building.
Please note that vehicle registration is required. You can register your license plate, when arrived at the venue.