Top 10 DevOps Tools You MUST Use in 2025!

In 2025, the focus isn't necessarily on the 'best' tools but those that proved impactful in 2024, showing maturity and significant shifts in how we work. The presenter categorizes various tools mostly used in their focus areas over the past year, highlighting 10 key categories. The aim is to spotlight tools that have evolved and deserve consideration in the tool arsenal moving forward.

The speaker discusses tools in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) categories. They note that while many popular AI tools exist, their choice is 'Fabric,' a more obscure tool that significantly aids in creating effective prompts. For CI/CD, traditional workflow tools haven't innovated much, relying on execution of tasks, but they emphasize the importance of tools like 'Earthly' that integrate Dockerfile and Makefile, and 'Devbox,' a package management solution that also helps with installing project tools locally or in workflows, as essential advancements in the CI/CD area.

In the containers category, the speaker describes the mature state of containers, with little differentiation between options like Docker Desktop and alternatives such as Rancher Desktop, Podman, etc. The more critical development is the emphasis on using slimmer, safer images which provide better performance and security. The winner in this category is 'Chainguard Images' for their focus on slim and secure base images, setting a new standard for building containers.

The discussion on developer portals reveals that while many companies have attempted to build platforms in various ways over the years, Kubernetes provides a unified technological base that promises success in this realm. The category winner, 'Port,' is recognized for efficient data modeling and visualization while integrating with existing Kubernetes resources. Despite some noted shortcomings, particularly around its API and Kubernetes integration, 'Port' stands out in a field with many suboptimal choices.

For GitOps, there's been a consolidation with Argo CD emerging as the dominant choice due to its robust community support and development. Although both Argo CD and Flux had strong followings, Flux's backing dwindled, making Argo CD the safer choice. Argo CD has proven itself in the field, solidifying its status as the preferred tool.

When managing infrastructure resources, the discussion highlights a shift from older configuration management tools to the newer infrastructure as code tools, with Terraform leading previously. However, now the focus is shifting towards control plane tools like 'Crossplane,' which allows for defining APIs and managing any type of resource declaratively, leveraging Kubernetes' capabilities. Crossplane is chosen as the winner for its adaptability and maturity, despite emerging competitors like CueVela.

The conversation about state management formats and tools that assist in defining and transforming data structures focuses on languages like Helm, Customize, Cue, and KCL. The speaker favors KCL for its simplicity and functionality, noting that it has become their go-to for handling complex data definitions internally, distinguishing it as a preferred choice over more traditional solutions like Helm for custom applications.