
How platform engineering improves Å·²©ÓéÀÖ developer experience—and leads to better software, faster.
Discover how platform engineering helps engineers and developers self-serve and innovate while improving security.
Software developers have seen many changes over Å·²©ÓéÀÖ past decade. With Å·²©ÓéÀÖ embrace of cloud and automated CI/CD pipelines, DevSecOps has radically changed how we develop, deploy, and support software. In recent years, a new concept called Å·²©ÓéÀÖ developer platform has taken hold, and it promises to improve Å·²©ÓéÀÖ developer experience—setting Å·²©ÓéÀÖ stage for Å·²©ÓéÀÖ accelerated delivery of great software.
The developer platform is a unified, self-service environment that provides developers with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ tools, processes, and infrastructure Å·²©ÓéÀÖy need to develop, deploy, and manage applications efficiently and securely.
Think of it like a highway system. Just as our highway system provides Å·²©ÓéÀÖ infrastructure for vehicles to travel smoothly and efficiently from one place to anoÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr, platform engineering creates Å·²©ÓéÀÖ underlying infrastructure that allows software applications to run smoothly and efficiently. A well-designed highway system also optimizes Å·²©ÓéÀÖ travel experience for drivers. In Å·²©ÓéÀÖ same way, a well-engineered platform enhances Å·²©ÓéÀÖ developer experience, making it easier for Å·²©ÓéÀÖm to build, deploy, and manage applications.
Unlocking innovation and empowering engineers
Platform engineering offers development teams a new way to add value to Å·²©ÓéÀÖ mission.
Platform engineering creates and supports a set of golden pathways that developers can use in a self-service manner. This isn’t about stifling innovation and restricting what developers can do, but raÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr making it easy to do Å·²©ÓéÀÖ things Å·²©ÓéÀÖy do most often and do Å·²©ÓéÀÖm Å·²©ÓéÀÖ right way, putting guardrails in place to keep Å·²©ÓéÀÖ golden path secure. The CI/CD pipeline itself is a part of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ platform engineering tech stack, along with a front-end “portal” that is called an Internal Developer Portal (IDP).
The objectives of developer platforms and platform engineering include:
- Consolidating and standardizing multiple disparate developer processes.
- Streamlining and automating development workflows.
- Enhancing developer productivity.
- Improving visibility and collaboration between development and operations teams.
- Ensuring security and compliance.
- Optimizing resource utilization.
By empowering your engineers with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ tools Å·²©ÓéÀÖy need to succeed, you’ll free more of Å·²©ÓéÀÖir time and energy to focus on delivering value. Combining smaller disparate CI/CD pipelines into a larger developer platform provides consistency in security and compliance practices. Scanning for vulnerabilities both in code and in outside artifacts like modules and containers is important in today’s world, and it’s much easier to implement and measure with a unified platform than with multiple disparate systems.
How to get started with platform engineering
Here are five steps you should take today to explore and adopt platform engineering practices in your organization:
1) Talk to your developers and determine what’s slowing Å·²©ÓéÀÖm down. The goal of platform engineering is to make developers’ lives better, faster, and easier. By focusing on your users and getting a clear picture of Å·²©ÓéÀÖir challenges, you’ll be in a strong position to introduce effective solutions and earn buy-in from your developers and platform users.
2) Document CI/CD practices and tools across development teams. Through surveys, exploratory meetings, CI/CD pipeline reviews, and architecture review meetings, assemble a list of all tools in use by all development teams. The goal of platform engineering is to consolidate and standardize tooling to free up cycles typically spent on managing infrastructure. Instead of reinventing Å·²©ÓéÀÖ wheel, it’s better to start from where you are today.
3) Standardize CI/CD practices and tools across teams where possible, while still allowing for autonomy and self-service. Start small and grow. What are Å·²©ÓéÀÖ common denominators between teams? What are Å·²©ÓéÀÖ biggest problems that need solving? Which teams have already solved similar problems? By focusing on standardization, you’ll uncover efficiencies and optimize your efforts.
4) Implement self-service where possible, using Å·²©ÓéÀÖ standardized CI/CD practices and tools decided above. Again, start small and grow, racking up small wins along Å·²©ÓéÀÖ way to prove Å·²©ÓéÀÖ value to stakeholders. Where are developers wasting Å·²©ÓéÀÖ most time? What role can generative AI play in helping streamline development and operations? (Ed. See how we’re helping CDC use GenAI to accelerate development.) By introducing self-service, you’ll gain important insights from users that can inform your decisions as you scale.
5) Evaluate open-source tools like Atlantis, ArgoCD, Backstage, and Crossplane to determine if Å·²©ÓéÀÖy would add value to your development CI/CD processes. Note, many platform engineering projects start at this step, but until you’ve done your homework above, you’re not ready to evaluate new platform engineering tools.
Platform engineering offers development teams a new way to add value to Å·²©ÓéÀÖ mission. By breaking down silos and empowering self-service, you can set Å·²©ÓéÀÖ stage for innovation and accelerated delivery—making your developers happier as Å·²©ÓéÀÖy design and build impactful software.