What is Platform Engineering: Definition and Usage

Digital transformation and the usage of various IT systems change the way businesses operate in LA and US-wide. These companies face intense pressure to deliver software information more reliably and fast. 

Platform engineering appears to help with these issues. It is based on integrating products as internal developer platforms which helps to organize the software development process.

This article will explain platform engineering and its benefits and see how it drives the entire software development cycle.

Definition of Platform Engineering

Platform engineering builds toolchains and processes that automate tasks for software teams, reducing administrative work and improving efficiency. The goal is to streamline application management and boost developer productivity.

Different teams require different platforms, so developers create tailored toolsets to match a company’s specific needs. This flexibility allows developers to work efficiently while minimizing time spent on setup and maintenance. Instead of handling infrastructure tasks, they can focus on coding.

Platform engineers design and maintain internal developer platforms (IDPs) too, to ensure smooth software delivery. They collaborate with development and management teams to build scalable, reliable infrastructure that supports application demands. Their responsibilities include database management, user authentication, and system scalability, ensuring the platform handles increasing traffic effectively.

Platform Engineering vs DevOps

Platform Engineering and DevOps are two closely connected but separate fields. The goal of DevOps is to eliminate the differences between operations and development and encourage collaboration. At the same time platform engineering, on the other hand, creates and manages self-service platforms that offer standardized infrastructure, tools, and procedures that speed up software development. 

Let’s dive into their differences, specific approaches, and goals.

Focus and Goal

• Platform Engineering: It focuses on maintaining internal platforms so developers can get right to their major tasks, increasing productivity and creativity. Also, focuses on standardizing approaches that maintain operational effectiveness and security.
• DevOps: It refers to ideas, procedures, and best practices that have been shown to enhance the software delivery process. DevOps encourages automation, which increases workflow and improves communication and problem-solving. 

Responsibilities 

• Platform Engineering: The main role is to promote effective software development and deployment, as well as planning, creating, and managing internal developer platforms. It also increases productivity and provides platform stability. It works closely with development and operations teams to ensure alignment between platform capabilities and business needs.
• DevOps: Operations and development teams work together more effectively thanks to DevOps protocols created by DevOps specialists. It plays a vital part in security by offering best practices throughout the development lifecycle. DevOps increases overall system reliability, boosts operational effectiveness, and speeds up software delivery.

Analyzing the Differences Between Platform Engineering and DevOps

Platform engineering focuses on building internal developer platforms (IDPs) to enhance developer productivity through automation, self-service tools, and standardization. In contrast, DevOps emphasizes collaboration between development and operations to accelerate software delivery using CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code (IaC). While platform engineering primarily serves developers and operators, DevOps involves all stakeholders within a business.

Platform Engineering Tools

In this section, we’ll list some of the commonly used platform engineering tools. Still, you aren’t limited to them only, as there are many available on the market:

• Kubernetes: An open-source solution for automating deployment. It’s one of the greatest automation solutions, which allows developers to run your application environments safely.
• Docker: Developers effectively create, deploy, test, run, manage, and update programs. Every container contains libraries, source code, and configurations. 
• GitLab: Complete control over the software delivery, infrastructure, and every development stage:
• Terraform: Managing infrastructure tools for development, staging, and production within platform engineering. 

Benefits and Challenges in Platform Engineering

Platform engineering focuses on designing, developing, and optimizing internal application platforms (IAPs) that help teams communicate better with each other. Internal development platforms offer several important benefits that drive the overall software development process, such as:

• Encourages collaboration between teams
• Helps new team members learn more efficiently
• Improves cross-team cooperation
• Accelerates the development process
• Improves developer experience 

Still, there are some challenges we shouldn’t ignore, like:

• Complexity, as it requires deep expertise in infrastructure and automation
• Maintenance, as it gets more complex as the companies grow
• Adoption, as some teams are not so open to learning and embracing new things

Despite these challenges, organizations that successfully implement platform engineering gain long-term benefits in developer productivity, operational efficiency, and software delivery speed.

The Role of Managed IT Services in Platform Engineering

Managed IT services and IT support play a critical role in platform engineering by ensuring stability, security, and efficiency in the infrastructure that developers and operations teams rely on. Here’s how they do it:

• Infrastructure Management: Managed IT services deal with cloud solutions and on-premise infrastructure, ensuring platform engineers work seamlessly.
• Security and Compliance: Applying best security practices while staying compliant with the laws and policies. 
• Automation and Support: IT support teams assist in maintaining CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tools, and automation frameworks.
• Incident Response: IT support teams proactively monitor the processes and resolve the issues to minimize downtime. 
• Backup and Disaster Recovery: Managed IT companies implement these strategies to ensure platform engineers have no barriers while executing the tasks. 

In general, everything a managed IT company offers as a service, including IT support, cybersecurity, network support, etc., has an important role in platform engineering. When outsourcing these aspects, the platform engineers, as well as DevOps, have enough time to deal with their tasks with no risks of delays. 

Conclusion

Platform engineering is essential for modern software development, providing automation, self-service tools, and standardized infrastructure to improve efficiency and scalability. While it differs from DevOps, both disciplines work together to enhance software delivery. Despite challenges like complexity and adoption, organizations that implement platform engineering gain long-term benefits in productivity and operational stability. With the support of managed IT services, businesses can ensure a secure, well-managed infrastructure, allowing platform engineers to focus on innovation and development.

Are you curious to learn whether the platform engineering approach applies to your industry? Here’s our industry services breakdown so you can ensure proper IT coverage. Industry not covered? Contact us for a custom offer!