Jack of all trades, master of none
The original idea behind DevOps was to bring development and operations together, but the gap between those two worlds has now become too wide for one person to fully master. The amount of knowledge required to manage modern cloud infrastructure is now just as demanding as writing application code. Expecting engineer single engineer to be engineer in both domains puts impossible mental pressure on people. To solve this, we need to stop letting developers struggle with the underlying "machinery" and instead provide a centralized layer that abstracts this complexity.
A mindset that enables growth
Platform Engineering, used by many high-performing companies such as Spotify, is a discipline that focuses on building an internal "platform as a service." This platform provides generic services and capabilities that are easy to replicate and scale for multiple internal development teams, which act as "customers" of the platform. This Internal Developer Platform (IDP) is not just a collection of tools; it provides three core values for engineering teams:
- Self-service capabilities: Developers get what they need, when they need it, without having to submit a ticket first.
- Common, standardized tools: The "golden path" of approved, safe, and efficient tools for the job.
- Standardized workflows: Automated, repeatable processes for building, deploying, and monitoring software.
The benefits are considerable and have a direct impact on the bottom line. You reduce costs by eliminating redundant work, enable software engineers to focus on valuable code, and standardize on a few proven methods instead of supporting dozens of variants. This keeps both architectural complexity and maintenance overhead low.
The strategic shift: turn your platform into a product
We have reached a point where virtually all use cases, except for the most complex ones, can be solved with off-the-shelf tooling. The traditional reflex was to build a new, custom solution for each use case, in the belief that it was uniquely optimized.
The modern, efficient approach is to standardize on a limited number of proven methods. You trade small, perceived optimizations for huge, real cost savings and the speed of a reliable, reusable solution.
Consider the feature, not the tool
Your external product is likely a set of standardized features that together deliver one specific experience. You wouldn't build a customized system for each customer individually either, as that would be prohibitively expensive.
Your internal platform works exactly the same way. You need to approach the platform as a fully-fledged product, just as you would with commercial software. By creating standardized, easy-to-use, self-service workflows, you ensure that the platform is user-friendly for its customers: your developers.
This standardization ensures that you deliver value faster, drastically reduce development and maintenance costs by focusing on a few core methods, and can effectively change course when the market demands it.
Where do you start?
To get started with Platform Engineering, you need to treat your internal infrastructure as a product and view your developers as real customers. Focus on a few key "products" in your organization that you can "sell" to developers. Just like building a good web store: clear products and a simple checkout. Tools such as Backstack.io or Multistax.com can help you create such web shops for developers. Then build building blocks with industry tools such as Terraform to eliminate manual deployments and standardize the solution.
How can we help?
Working with a specialized Cloud Native expert such as SUE accelerates this transition from theory to practice. For example, we support organizations with the implementation of tools such as Backstage and the construction of building blocks that developers can use immediately. In addition, we offer our multi-cloud platform tool Multistax, which provides you with an immediate foundation for self-service infrastructure. Not sure where to start? Our Platform Roadmap Workshop is designed to establish a compelling product vision for your platform and translate this into an actionable roadmap. We involve all stakeholders to ensure that the most important objectives are aligned with business priorities and to secure commitment to the platform's purpose.
