Aviatrix wants to elevate the work of cloud networking heroes who labor to keep networks secure, effective, and performant. We’re proud to highlight people who have taught themselves the necessary skills, designed and managed successful networks, and have the expertise to share.
Our next hero spotlight is on Yongkang He, Founder of KSUG.AI India. See our previous hero spotlights here.
Background: Cloud Native, Kubernetes, and Multicloud
Yongkang is a global Cloud Native influencer, best known as the world’s first kubestronaut and the creator of awstronaut and kubestrong—both initiatives under KSUG.AI – KubeSmart & AI User Group. As a leading voice in the Kubernetes and Multicloud space, he founded KSUG.AI, now the most active Cloud Native user group, with over 100,000 professionals following the community to navigate their Cloud Native journey more affordably.
“Most people know me today as the Cloud Native guy, the Kubernetes guy, or the multicloud guy. But my journey started over 20 years ago in networking—long before those buzzwords existed,” he said.
The Evolution of Networking and the Next Ten Years
Yongkang has watched the cloud networking landscape change fundamentally over the past ten years. “Who still remembers 3Com? Or that IBM once sold networking equipment? Early in my career, I spent countless hours in data centers configuring routers and switches from vendors like 3Com, Cisco, and IBM—names that are fading from today’s conversations,” he said. “Fast forward to now, everything is software-defined, and very few engineers even step foot in a data center.”
Yongkang explained why these changes create new challenges. “As we’ve moved from traditional infrastructure to public, private, and hybrid cloud, networking has only grown more complex. There are no longer clear boundaries like in the past. That’s why specialized multicloud networking tools have become essential in the modern Cloud Native world. Over the next decade, I believe we’ll see rapid growth in solutions that unify configuration, monitoring, operations, and security into a single, intelligent dashboard—making cloud networking smarter, more secure, and much easier to manage.”
Security Conversations in the Cloud: Everything Changes
Since moving to the cloud, Yongkang has been far more involved in security discussions than he ever was in traditional on-prem environments. “In the past, security was often isolated to a dedicated team, and the perimeter was clearer: a physical data center with well-defined boundaries. But in the cloud, everything changes,” he said.
He explained how the cloud has reshaped security. “The shared responsibility model, dynamic infrastructure, identity-driven access, and constant changes in workloads demand a new level of security awareness from everyone—especially those designing and operating the infrastructure. The cloud doesn't just increase flexibility and scale—it also multiplies the attack surface if not managed properly.”
Yongkang argues that this widened attack surface is why cloud security isn't optional: it must be embedded into every layer—networking, compute, storage, and identity. “Security has shifted left, and cloud engineers, platform teams, and networking pros must now think like security architects,” he said.
Cloud Network Security: Traditional Perimeters No Longer Apply
“To me, cloud network security is about securing an ever-expanding, borderless environment where traditional perimeters no longer apply,” Yongkang said. “In a world of hybrid and multicloud architectures, it's not just about firewalls and access control lists anymore. It's about identity-aware, policy-driven security that’s built into every layer of the stack.”
What does that mean for security professionals? “It means protecting dynamic workloads, APIs, containers, and microservices, while ensuring visibility and control across multiple clouds, regions, and tenants. It also requires automation—security must scale with speed. Manual patching, config changes, or siloed tools don’t cut it anymore,” he explained.
For Yongkang, cloud network security is no longer an afterthought. “It’s foundational,” he said. “It enables innovation without compromise, and it empowers teams to move fast while staying secure.”
Controlling Costs
Yongkang addressed a common issue for networking professionals, managing cloud costs, through the lens of multicloud network. “Multicloud is not just a trend—it’s the direction the industry is heading,” he said. “And with that comes the need for multicloud networking. This isn't something to treat as an afterthought. It should be part of your Day 0 planning. From the start, your networking design, tools, and mindset must be ready to support scalable, secure, and cost-effective growth across hybrid and multicloud environments.”
To become fluent in multicloud, networking professionals must educate themselves. “Now is the time to upskill,” Yongkang said. “Focus on acquiring deep knowledge of cloud-native networking architectures, software-defined networking (SDN), service meshes, and multicloud connectivity solutions. These skillsets not only help control costs through better design and visibility—they also make you stand out in a highly competitive job market.”
Outside of Work
Outside of work, Yongkang loves traveling, especially for tech conferences. “It’s a unique way to explore the world while meeting community friends who share the same passion,” he said. “Believe it or not, KubeCon India 2025 will be my 9th KubeCon! I've also attended Google Cloud Next, AWS re:Invent, Microsoft Global MVP Summita nd many other events where I’ve had the chance to connect with awstronauts, kubestrong club members, AWS Heroes & Community Builders, Microsoft MVPs, Google Developer Experts, CNCF Kubestronauts, CNCF Ambassadors—you name it.”
Yongkang explained why he enjoys these gatherings: “What fuels me is the energy from these meetups—exchanging ideas, sharing stories, and helping each other become KubeSmart, KubeStrong, and ultimately, KubeSuccess. It’s more than work—it’s my kind of fun,” he said.
Curious about other cloud networking heroes like Yongkang?
We’ll keep highlighting networking professionals on this blog.
Learn more about the Cloud Networking Heroes program on The Cloud Network Community.
