In this article, Viktor Gamov, a developer advocate with Kong, guides readers through setting up service connectivity using Kong Konnect and Kubernetes. The process involves deploying an application within a Kubernetes cluster, configuring a runtime using Konnect, and showcasing management capabilities like enabling plugins. The setup begins with preparing a Kubernetes cluster and installing Helm for deploying Kong Gateway and Ingress Controller. A secure connection is established between the control plane and the data plane, followed by the creation of secrets in Kubernetes. The article details creating a mock service through Konnect, demonstrating how requests are proxied through Kong Gateway, and emphasizes managing API gateways by configuring services and implementations within the Konnect UI. Additionally, Gamov explains the application of rate limiting and request validator policies to manage traffic and request validation, highlighting the power of Kong's plugins in enhancing service functionality without altering the application itself. The article concludes by inviting readers to try Kong Konnect with a free trial and explore further tutorials for optimizing their developer pipeline.