The Kong Gateway Operator 1.4 release introduces several new features aimed at simplifying the management and deployment of Kong Gateway through enhanced integration with Konnect and Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs). Users can now configure Kong Konnect using CRDs, attach DataPlane resources to Konnect with minimal setup, and manage custom plugins from an OCI registry using the KongPluginInstallation CRD. The update simplifies the previously complex process of integrating data planes with Konnect by using the new KonnectExtension resource, which allows users to define control plane details once and apply them across multiple data planes. Additionally, the release includes support for specifying a PodDisruptionBudget to maintain a minimum number of available pods. These enhancements aim to improve user experience, particularly for on-premises deployments, and invite feedback via the GitHub discussion forum for further improvements.