The Power of Platform Engineering: A Comprehensive Guide

 In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, platform engineering has emerged as a critical element for modern organizations. It enables businesses to create and maintain a set of proprietary internal tools that streamline the software development process, especially when working with cloud applications. An effective internal developer platform (IDP) can automate tedious tasks, reduce cognitive loads for developers, and speed up application development while scaling with a company’s operational needs. In this article, we will explore what platform engineering is, the role of an IDP in software development, how to build a platform engineering team, and the best practices and challenges involved in creating a cutting-edge IDP.

Platform engineering is not just the next phase of DevOps; it is the supporting backbone that makes DevOps effective. The process creates and maintains a set of internal proprietary tools that speed up software development. With platform engineering, organizations can consolidate the fractured tools that require expertise and manual labor into a single platform, creating a more efficient and seamless development process.

An IDP is the output of platform engineering, which is a set of tools designed to hasten the development of applications, remove bottlenecks, and improve the onboarding process for new hires. An effective IDP will automate repetitive and tedious tasks, simplify workflows, and reduce cognitive loads for developers. A well-designed IDP scales alongside a company’s operational needs and helps improve the software development process as it becomes more sophisticated.

To build an efficient platform engineering team, businesses must consider the necessary skill sets and soft skills. Developers must have experience with software infrastructure and understand the tools that form the underlying processes of software engineering. Soft skills like empathy, perspective, and partnership are crucial components for crafting an IDP, as it indicates a willingness to learn, respond to changes, and collaborate effectively.

To create a cutting-edge IDP, it’s crucial to clarify business goals, conceptualize your solution, think long-term with adoption, and consider the costs involved. An effective IDP requires careful planning and anticipation of roadblocks, and its design must be clear and concise to deliver value. It is essential to think about how your business will scale and how your finished IDP will help the process along. Moreover, it’s best to consider how the IDP will evolve over time, becoming a platform to be iterated upon and improved.

For organizations that have determined a from-scratch IDP isn’t worth the investment, there are existing open-source or licensable IDPs available. For example, Ansible is an open-source IDP that automates manual IT processes, while ServiceNow provides a range of IT automation tools like Infrastructure as Code, pre-configured playbooks, and more.

In conclusion, platform engineering is a vital component of modern organizations. An IDP can help businesses streamline their software development processes, reducing cognitive loads for developers and speeding up the application development process. By following best practices, considering long-term adoption, and building an effective platform engineering team, businesses can develop cutting-edge IDPs that enable them to remain competitive and innovative in a rapidly changing landscape.