Kong Operator 2.0 is an integrated Kubernetes offering that unifies Kong Ingress Controller and Kong Gateway Operator, simplifying the deployment, management, configuration, and upgrades of Kong Gateway instances on Kubernetes. The update introduces a new ControlPlane resource that streamlines controller configuration by allowing settings to be applied at the Control Plane level, reducing complexity and improving security by embedding Kong Ingress Controller instances directly within the operator's process. This change eliminates the need for cluster-wide privileges for each deployment, thus simplifying role-based configurations and enhancing security. The update also deprecates TCPIngress and UDPIngress custom resources in favor of the Gateway API, aligning with the broader Kubernetes ecosystem and reducing configuration fragmentation. While these changes mark a significant improvement, Kong Operator 2.1 will further expand support for the Kubernetes Gateway API to Konnect control planes, enhancing integration with the Kong API ecosystem.