What is Platform Engineering?

Platform Engineering is about creating a set of reusable tools, services, and workflows that enable developers to build and deploy applications more efficiently. It’s the practice of designing and building self-service, scalable platforms that empower developers to focus on writing code and delivering value without getting bogged down by the underlying infrastructure.

This shift is driven by the increasing complexity of modern software systems. With microservices, containerization, and cloud-native architectures becoming the norm, developers are often required to manage a complex web of tools and processes. Platform Engineering aims to simplify this by providing a curated set of tools and services that abstract away the complexity, allowing developers to focus on what they do best.

The Need for Platform Engineering: A Real-Life Scenario

Let’s consider a real-life example to illustrate the importance of Platform Engineering. Imagine a mid-sized tech company with a growing team of developers. The company has adopted a microservices architecture, and each team is responsible for deploying their services to Kubernetes clusters in the cloud.

Initially, things run smoothly. The teams are small, and the developers are well-versed in Kubernetes and the associated tooling. But as the company grows, so does the complexity. New developers join the team, each with varying levels of experience with Kubernetes and DevOps practices. Some are more comfortable working with infrastructure as code, while others struggle with the steep learning curve.

As a result, the teams start to experience friction. Deployments take longer, bugs slip through the cracks, and the overall productivity of the development team begins to suffer. Developers are spending more time managing infrastructure than writing code, and the velocity of the entire organization slows down.

This is where Platform Engineering comes into play. Recognizing the need for a more streamlined approach, the company decides to invest in building an internal developer platform (IDP). This platform abstracts away the complexity of Kubernetes and provides developers with a self-service interface for deploying their services. Instead of writing custom scripts and YAML files, developers can now use a simple command-line tool or web interface to deploy their services, monitor their applications, and manage their infrastructure.

The impact is immediate. Developers are no longer bogged down by the intricacies of Kubernetes, and they can focus on writing and deploying code. The time to deploy new features is drastically reduced, and the overall productivity of the team improves. The platform also enforces best practices, ensuring that all deployments follow a consistent process, reducing the risk of errors and improving the reliability of the services.

The Components of a Successful Platform

So, what makes a successful platform? Here are some key components:

1. Self-Service Interfaces: The platform should provide easy-to-use interfaces, whether through a web portal, CLI, or API, that allow developers to deploy, monitor, and manage their applications without needing to understand the underlying infrastructure.

2. Automation: Automation is at the heart of Platform Engineering. By automating repetitive tasks such as provisioning infrastructure, configuring services, and managing deployments, the platform reduces the cognitive load on developers and ensures consistency across the organization.

3. Scalability: The platform must be designed to scale with the needs of the organization. As the number of developers and services grows, the platform should be able to handle the increased load without becoming a bottleneck.

4. Observability: Providing developers with visibility into their applications is critical. The platform should include monitoring, logging, and alerting capabilities that allow developers to quickly identify and resolve issues.

5. Security and Compliance: A well-designed platform enforces security best practices and compliance requirements, ensuring that all deployments meet the necessary standards.

Challenges and Considerations

While Platform Engineering offers many benefits, it’s not without its challenges. Building such a platform requires expertise in both software development and infrastructure. It also takes a very long time if you do it yourself from scratch. There’s also the risk of creating a platform that is too rigid, limiting developers’ ability to innovate or forcing them to work within constraints that don’t align with their needs. That’s where internal platform automation tools such as KoalaOps come in.

The Future of DevOps and Platform Engineering

In many ways, Platform Engineering represents the next step in the evolution of DevOps. By providing developers with the tools and services they need to build and deploy applications efficiently, Platform Engineering is helping organizations overcome the challenges of modern software development and paving the way for the future of DevOps.

Conclusion

Platform Engineering is more than just a trend; it’s a strategic approach to overcoming the challenges of modern software development. By creating reusable tools and services that abstract away the complexity of infrastructure, Platform Engineering empowers developers to focus on delivering value to their customers.

As we’ve seen from real-life examples, the benefits of Platform Engineering are significant. Companies that invest in building internal developer platforms are seeing improvements in productivity, consistency, and reliability, all of which are critical to their success in a rapidly changing landscape.

Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, Platform Engineering has the potential to transform your DevOps practices and help you stay competitive in today’s fast-paced world. So, if you’re not already thinking about Platform Engineering, now is the time to start. The future of DevOps is here, and it’s built on platforms.