It is still pronounced Kubernetes though because pronouncing K-eight-s doesn't save much time. K8s is shorter form of Kubernetes with the logic of replacing the eight letters after K with 8. The short answer is that it is shorter to write K8s than Kubernetes. But why so? I throw some light on this matter. The short answer is Kubernetes and K8s refer to the same thing. Is K8s same as Kubernetes or are they different?
You'll find it being used as a synonym to Kubernetes.
It is an open source container orchestration platform. You probably have heard of Kubernetes, the hottest, in-demand DevOps tech in the market these days.