Cloud computing
Platform Engineering: between myth and reality
An approach that allows teams to increase productivity and accelerate the application development and deployment cycle, ensuring security and up-to-date.
But one that requires uncommon skills for its set-up and management
While it has been known in the United States and the United Kingdom for some time, it is only now spreading in Italy: the world of software and application development is witnessing the rise of platform engineering.
It is a new approach created to respond to the increasing complexity of software architectures in the cloud-native era and is based on internal development platforms, in English Internal Developer Platform (IDP), that interpose themselves between developers and end users, to simplify the management of the entire project lifecycle (from design, to implementation, to maintenance), with a marked improvement in user experience, speed of delivery, agility in process management and customization.
It is a new approach created to respond to the increasing complexity of software architectures in the cloud-native era and is based on internal development platforms, in English Internal Developer Platform (IDP), that interpose themselves between developers and end users, to simplify the management of the entire project lifecycle (from design, to implementation, to maintenance), with a marked improvement in user experience, speed of delivery, agility in process management and customization.
Multiply the value
The reason platform engineering is gaining prominence, so much so that it appears in Gartner‘s Top Strategic Technological Trends 2023 report, is because it is capable of multiplying the value that flows from application development because of its many benefits.
First, the adoption of cloud-native architectures and serverless services enables greater agility, scalability and resilience of development platforms.
Indeed, these technology solutions offer software developers the ability to focus on application development while the underlying infrastructure is managed in an automated and scalable manner.
In terms of data security, too, with the increasingly pressing need to protect sensitive information, ensure regulatory compliance and respond to emerging threats with the support of data analytics and artificial intelligence, the new approach is a winner.
So too is the integration of emerging technologies-the internet of things, blockchain, augmented/virtual reality, AI-becoming faster and more secure.
All of these benefits lead to what is ultimately the most important, and that is a better user experience, which is also the result of other features, such as personalization of services, automation of interactions, and data analytics that enable anticipation of user needs.
First, the adoption of cloud-native architectures and serverless services enables greater agility, scalability and resilience of development platforms.
Indeed, these technology solutions offer software developers the ability to focus on application development while the underlying infrastructure is managed in an automated and scalable manner.
In terms of data security, too, with the increasingly pressing need to protect sensitive information, ensure regulatory compliance and respond to emerging threats with the support of data analytics and artificial intelligence, the new approach is a winner.
So too is the integration of emerging technologies-the internet of things, blockchain, augmented/virtual reality, AI-becoming faster and more secure.
All of these benefits lead to what is ultimately the most important, and that is a better user experience, which is also the result of other features, such as personalization of services, automation of interactions, and data analytics that enable anticipation of user needs.
Getting two worlds that didn’t speak to each other to communicate
According to Gartner analysts’ predictions, platform engineering will solve the problem of cooperation between software developers and the operators who use them: in fact, this approach finally connects two worlds that until now had never spoken to each other.
That is why it is expected that by 2026, 80 percent of software engineering companies will create teams of platform engineers who will work as in-house providers of services, components, and reusable tools for application implementation and delivery.
The demand for professionals suited for this role, and therefore capable of addressing both technology and process issues, is estimated to increase by 300-400% in the coming years.
This is because platform engineering increases efficiency, speed, and dynamism in building applications by having a team with 360-degree skills and a vision on both software development and the platform on which it is based.
The approach, however, is not entirely new, and practitioners have been grappling with Internal Developer Platforms and their underlying technologies for some time now.
Not least because one cannot improvise as a platform engineer, since the skills required are all highly evolved.
That is why it is expected that by 2026, 80 percent of software engineering companies will create teams of platform engineers who will work as in-house providers of services, components, and reusable tools for application implementation and delivery.
The demand for professionals suited for this role, and therefore capable of addressing both technology and process issues, is estimated to increase by 300-400% in the coming years.
This is because platform engineering increases efficiency, speed, and dynamism in building applications by having a team with 360-degree skills and a vision on both software development and the platform on which it is based.
The approach, however, is not entirely new, and practitioners have been grappling with Internal Developer Platforms and their underlying technologies for some time now.
Not least because one cannot improvise as a platform engineer, since the skills required are all highly evolved.
A team with well-rounded expertise
First, a great deal of knowledge of the platforms is required, both from the perspective of their architecture and in terms of their security.
Thoroughly understanding the different platforms available-such as cloud services, application development frameworks, big data platforms, virtualization technologies-is just as essential as being able to implement the security measures essential to protect customer data.
That means knowing how to recognize existing vulnerabilities, knowing how to apply access control best practices, and mastering the use of monitoring tools.
In addition to platform skills, it is also critical to be familiar with automating provisioning processes and configuring and scaling system resources, and to have an in-depth knowledge of the most popular automation and orchestration tools as well as a view of those that will be implemented in the near future.
Without a good knowledge in the design, development and management of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), it would also not be possible to enable integration between platforms and applications.
Finally, as data analytics and AI will be increasingly integrated into platforms, it will be necessary to have know-how in data processing, machine learning, and the integration of intelligent algorithms.
Setting up a team for platform engineering, in short, is not really for everyone.
An approach accessible to all
In Italy, there are still few realities that have integrated a team of platform engineers in-house.
But the benefits that this methodology ensures will play an increasingly decisive role in the competitiveness of companies, and soon even manufacturing and service realities that do not have an in-house team will want to take advantage of it.
Other companies, on the other hand, will be forced to do so, because many widely used enterprise applications are about to upgrade to the new development methods, and it will not be possible to continue using them unless they have an Internal Developer Platform.
Many realities, however, do not want to complicate their lives by including a team of platform engineers in-house: they simply want the platform ready to use, on which software developers can work with ease.
Often, in fact, these realities have teams of DevOps developers with more operating system-oriented skills who need to use the platform easily, without having to deal with tools that are not so easy to manage, whose costs and security are not always easy to control.
That is why Platform Engineering has become part of the Deda Cloud offering.
In this way we give our customers the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of this type of approach without having to shoulder the complexity.
If you would like to explore this topic further, please contact us.
