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Platform Engineering

In the evolving digital landscape of technology and innovation, organizations face the challenges of rapidly delivering high-quality digital products and services while maintaining efficiency, security, and resilience. Platform Engineering is a cornerstone for modern enterprises aiming to thrive in a competitive market.

What is Platform Engineering?

Platform Engineering is an interdisciplinary approach that combines software development, operations, and quality assurance to create a cohesive environment for building and deploying applications. It's like providing a well-oiled machine where all the pieces work together seamlessly. This enables organizations to focus on delivering value to their customers rather than being bogged down by the intricacies of the technology stack.

At its core, Platform Engineering involves creating and maintaining a "Delivery Platform" — a suite of tools, services, and processes designed to streamline the development, deployment, and management of software applications. Such platforms are not just about technology; they embody a philosophy of empowering developers by providing them with a robust, flexible, and enjoyable environment that accelerates innovation and simplifies complex tasks.

The Evolution of Platform Engineering

The origins of Platform Engineering can be traced back to the early days of DevOps, which sought to break down the silos between development and operations teams. As digital enterprises grew in complexity and scale, the need for a more structured approach to manage this interplay became apparent. Enter Platform Engineering — which builds on the foundations of DevOps by offering a more comprehensive framework that encompasses not just development and operations but also security, governance, and observability.

Advanced organizations such as Google, Netflix, and Amazon have pioneered this realm, demonstrating how effective Platform Engineering can propel a company's ability to innovate at scale. These tech giants, alongside nimble startups, have shown that with the right platform, the agility to respond to market changes, deploy new features, and maintain high standards of quality and security is not just achievable but sustainable.

Why Platform Engineering Matters

In today's age, where customer expectations are ever-increasing, and the pace of technological change is relentless, having a solid Delivery Platform is no longer optional; it's a necessity. A well-designed platform enables organizations to:

  • Accelerate the delivery of new features and products to market.
  • Enhance collaboration across teams, fostering innovation and reducing time-to-market.
  • Improve the efficiency and joy of the development experience, attracting and retaining top talent.
  • Ensure the scalability, security, and resilience of digital products and services.
  • Reduce the cognitive load on Stream-aligned Teams

As you read further into Platform Engineering, you'll explore its core principles, the architecture of effective delivery platforms, and the best practices that lead to successful implementation. Whether you're part of a startup or a global enterprise, understanding and applying the concepts of Platform Engineering can be a game-changer in your digital transformation journey.

Platform Engineering vs. DevOps

While Platform Engineering and DevOps share common goals of improving software delivery speed and quality, they approach these goals from slightly different angles:

  • DevOps focuses on the cultural and process changes required to bring development and operations teams together. It advocates for automation, continuous integration/delivery (CI/CD), and tight feedback loops.
  • Platform Engineering embraces these DevOps principles but goes a step further by building a robust, scalable, and user-friendly platform that serves as the foundation for these activities. It emphasizes creating a standardized development environment that abstracts underlying complexities and provides a set of tools and services designed to improve the developer experience and operational efficiency.

Want to learn more?

For a more in depth guide on Platform Engineering and DevOps, check out this video: What is Platform Engineering and how it fits into DevOps and Cloud world