Quick Answer: Kubernetes, also known as K8s, is an open-source container orchestration system for automating software deployment, scaling, and management. Originally designed by Google, the project is now maintained by a worldwide community of contributors, and the trademark is held by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. The name Kubernetes comes from the Ancient Greek term κυβερνήτης, kubernḗtēs, which is also the origin of the words cybernetics and governor. "Kubernetes" is often abbreviated with the numerical contraction "K8s", meaning "the letter K, followed by 8 letters, followed by s". Kubernetes assembles one or more computers, either virtual machines or bare metal, into a cluster which can run workloads in containers. It works with various container runtimes, such as containerd and CRI-O. Its suitability for running and managing workloads of all sizes and styles has led to its widespread adoption in clouds and data centers.