KubeVirt in Practice & AI in QA: What Works, What Doesn't

We are closing out 2026 with two practical talks from very different corners of modern engineering. Simon Krenger from Red Hat takes us into the world of running VMs alongside containers with KubeVirt, and Basia Karaagac shares her perspective on where AI genuinely helps in QA, and where it still falls short. Two frontiers, two honest takes, plus the usual networking apero to wrap up the year. Here's what's planned for the evening: 17:30 - 18:00 - Arrival and first drinks 18:00 - 18:45 - Containers Aren't VMs... Except When They Are by Simon Krenger 18:45 - 19:30 - AI in QA: Where It Helps, and Where It Still Falls Short by Basia Karaagac 19:30 - 20:30 - Networking, Open Space & More drinks Containers Aren't VMs... Except When They Are In many companies, VMs still reign supreme. But what if we want to bring these VMs closer to the cloud native world? In this talk, we'll see how KubeVirt extends Kubernetes to manage VMs alongside containers, looking into its architecture and integration with the Kubernetes API. Through live demos, we'll see how to deploy, manage, and monitor VMs in a Kubernetes cluster. But we'll also explore its challenges and the operational trade-offs of running VMs in a container-first world. Finally, we'll discuss pragmatic guidelines for when KubeVirt shines and when alternatives like containerization or existing VM solutions might be better. This session will equip you with knowledge to decide if KubeVirt is the right tool, and when to leave the VMs behind. Simon Krenger Principal Technical Account Manager @ Red Hat Simon is an open source enthusiast from Bern, working with Kubernetes since 2017. Since 2019, he works as a TAM at Red Hat supporting customers with stacking containers. In his free time he can often be found somewhere in the mountains. What AI Can't Do in QA: Why Robots Won't Take Our Jobs AI is rapidly becoming part of modern testing workflows, from generating test cases to assisting with automation. But where does it actually fall short? In this talk, I'll share practical examples from real-world QA work to highlight the limitations of AI in testing. I'll focus on areas where human judgment remains essential, such as exploratory testing, understanding system behavior in context, and making risk-based decisions in fast-changing environments. The goal is not to dismiss AI, but to help teams use it more effectively, by understanding what it can and cannot do. Attendees will leave with a clearer view of how to combine AI tools with human expertise to build more reliable and meaningful testing practices. Basia Karaagac Principal Quality Engineer @ Exeon Analytics Basia is a QA Lead specializing in building QA strategy from scratch in fast-growing startups. She works mainly with Python, Selenium, and API testing while not neglecting exploratory tests. She focuses on embedding quality deeply into DevOps pipelines while keeping teams fast, confident, and production-safe. Graduating from Stanford's Postgraduate Program in Cybersecurity shaped her security-first approach to quality engineering in environments where reliability and trust are non-negotiable. She cares deeply about building strong engineering cultures where quality is shared, not siloed. Many thanks to our sponsors: Catering Sponsor: DevOpsDays Zürich https://www.devopsdays.ch/ Location Sponsor: Digicomp https://www.digicomp.ch/ contact us min. 3 days prior to the event if you prefer a vegan option.