Learn Cloud Native & CNCF - Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) & Working Groups

#Introduction

Episode 3 introduced the TOC as CNCF's technical body. But the TOC doesn't make decisions in a vacuum — behind it works a network of Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs), each delving deep into one technical domain. They gather data, write recommendations, and bridge interests across projects.

TAGs are the most dynamic part of CNCF governance. Because they're open, anyone can join their meetings. For those who want to get involved without immediately mastering a single project, TAGs are the friendliest entry point.

By the end of this episode you will know the ten TAGs, understand the role of working groups, and know that CNCF white papers are a learning resource often underestimated by beginners.

#What a Technical Advisory Group Is

#A Forum for Cross-Project Discussion

A Technical Advisory Group is a working group formed by the TOC to handle topics that cut across many projects. For example, security touches every project, so it can't be handled by a single project alone. TAGs provide a space where project representatives, users, and vendors meet to discuss such topics.

TAGs don't manage projects — that's the project's own job. TAGs act more as a place for consultation, research, and guidance creation. When a project needs input on security or observability, it goes to the relevant TAG.

#The Catalog of Ten TAGs

#TAGs for Technical Foundations

Several TAGs handle the most fundamental technical foundations:

• TAG App Delivery — how applications are built and delivered: CI/CD, packaging, and deployment.
• TAG Security — cloud native security, from supply chain to runtime security.
• TAG Observability — metrics, logs, tracing, and telemetry standards.
• TAG Network — networking and service mesh across projects.
• TAG Runtime — container runtimes, sandboxing, and WebAssembly.

These five TAGs answer everyday technical questions: how to deliver applications securely, monitor them, connect them, and run them.

#TAGs for New and Social Domains

The other five TAGs handle newer domains and organizational issues:

• TAG Platform Engineering — internal platforms and developer experience.
• TAG Contributor Strategy — how communities grow and projects attract contributors.
• TAG Storage — data storage in the cloud native ecosystem.
• TAG Environmental Sustainability — energy efficiency and carbon footprint.
• TAG AI — artificial intelligence and machine learning in the cloud native ecosystem.

TAG AI is the youngest and marks a new chapter: CNCF now officially considers how AI and cloud native influence each other — a topic we'll explore deeper in episode 17.

#Working Groups and Supporting Initiatives

#Working Groups

Beyond TAGs, there are working groups (WG) formed for more specific or temporary tasks. Examples include WG Security — which collaborates with SIG-Security from the Kubernetes community — and WG Data, which among other things compiles a glossary of cloud native terms so there's a shared language.

Working groups can be formed and disbanded as needed, making them an agile instrument for handling problems not yet worthy of becoming permanent TAGs.

For those who want to contribute without a major commitment, working groups are an attractive option: clear tasks, limited scope, and small contributions often show visible results quickly.

#CNCF White Papers

One of the TAGs' most useful legacies for learners is the CNCF White Papers. These documents discuss major topics in depth and in a vendor-neutral way. Some of the most famous include:

• Platforms white paper — cloud native platform architecture.
• Serverless white paper — serverless and FaaS in the CNCF ecosystem.
• Architecture white paper — cloud native architecture patterns.
• OpenTelemetry white paper — modern observability.

White papers are ideal reading after finishing this series. Their language and depth are designed for humans, not machines — perfect for deepening your understanding.

#Contacting and Participating

#Joining TAG Meetings

All TAGs hold regular meetings that are open to the public, and their notes are published in each TAG's repository. You can see the meeting schedule on the CNCF website, then start as an observer before eventually contributing. This is one of the smoothest paths into the CNCF ecosystem — and it requires no special skills at the start.

To see a TAG's structure and working documents directly, you can explore its GitHub repository:

git clone https://github.com/cncf/tag-security.git
ls cncf/tag-security
grep -ril "security" cncf/tag-security/security | head -n 5

The git clone command fetches the TAG Security repository, then grep searches for documents containing security discussions. Reading this repository will show you how structured TAG work is — and how open it is to anyone's participation.

#Why TAGs Matter to the Ecosystem

#A Bridge Between Projects and Users

TAGs are where two worlds meet: the world of projects busy with their own code, and the world of users who need concrete solutions. Without TAGs, efforts like OpenTelemetry standardization or cross-project security guidance would be fragmented.

For those who are learning, TAGs are also a rarely exploited source of knowledge. The documents, meeting recordings, and white papers they produce are free, high-quality learning material that few people know about.

#Closing

Episode 7 introduced CNCF's technical structure under the TOC: ten Technical Advisory Groups handling domains from security to AI, working groups for specific tasks, and white papers that serve as highly readable industry guidance documents.

Key takeaways:

• TAGs are a forum for cross-project discussion, not project managers.
• The ten TAGs cover app delivery, security, observability, network, runtime, platform engineering, contributor strategy, storage, sustainability, and AI.
• Working groups are formed for specific and temporary tasks.
• CNCF white papers are free, high-quality learning material.
• TAG meetings are open to the public and anyone can join.
• The cncf/tag-security repository is a concrete example of structured TAG work.

In episode 8 we'll step out of the documentation realm and onto the world stage: KubeCon + CloudNativeCon and CNCF events — the largest conference in the cloud native world, along with companion events like the Observability Summit and Platform Engineering Day.