Kubernetes, often abbreviated as K8s, is an open-source container orchestration platform for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It was originally developed by Google and is now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), which is a part of the Linux Foundation.

Containers are a lightweight form of virtualization that package an application and its dependencies together into a single unit, making it easy to deploy and run consistently across different environments. Kubernetes provides a framework for automating the deployment and management of these containers, offering several key features and benefits:

1. Container Orchestration: Kubernetes can manage the scheduling and placement of containers across a cluster of machines, ensuring that applications run efficiently and reliably. It can automatically distribute containers, balance workloads, and replace failed containers or nodes.

2. Scaling: Kubernetes enables automatic scaling of application instances based on resource utilization or defined policies. It can scale applications up or down as needed to meet traffic demands.

3. Service Discovery and Load Balancing: Kubernetes includes built-in service discovery and load balancing mechanisms. This simplifies communication between different parts of an application and ensures that traffic is distributed evenly.

4. Rolling Updates and Rollbacks: Kubernetes allows for rolling updates of applications, enabling seamless updates with minimal downtime. If an update causes issues, it supports easy rollbacks to the previous version.

5. Self-healing: Kubernetes continuously monitors the health of containers and can automatically restart or replace containers that fail. This helps ensure the availability of applications.

6. Declarative Configuration: Administrators define the desired state of applications and infrastructure using YAML or JSON files. Kubernetes then works to reconcile the actual state with the desired state, making it a declarative platform.

7. Ecosystem and Extensibility: Kubernetes has a large and active ecosystem of extensions, plugins, and tools that enhance its functionality. It can be extended to integrate with various cloud providers, storage solutions, and monitoring systems.

8. Portability: Kubernetes abstracts the underlying infrastructure, making it easier to move applications between different cloud providers or on-premises data centers.

Kubernetes has become the de facto standard for container orchestration and is widely used in both small-scale development environments and large-scale production systems. It has a steep learning curve but offers tremendous flexibility and scalability for containerized applications, making it a popular choice for organizations embracing container technology and cloud-native development practices.