Platform Engineering 101

Platform engineering is an approach to software development that focuses on building and maintaining a platform that can be used by other teams or applications within an organization. The platform is designed to provide common services and infrastructure, such as storage, compute, and networking, which can be consumed by other teams to build and deploy their own applications. In this article, we will explore the benefits of platform engineering, ways to adopt this approach, common tools used in platform engineering, and the skills needed to become a platform engineer.

Benefits of Platform Engineering

Standardization and Reusability

One of the primary benefits of platform engineering is standardization and reusability. By providing a set of common services and infrastructure, platform engineers can ensure that all teams within an organization are using the same technology stack, which makes it easier to collaborate and share knowledge. This also reduces the duplication of efforts and allows teams to focus on building new features and functionality instead of building infrastructure from scratch.

Improved Productivity

With a platform in place, teams can work more efficiently and focus on their core competencies. Developers can focus on building new features and functionality, while operations teams can focus on ensuring the platform is highly available and reliable. By eliminating the need to build and manage infrastructure, teams can work more quickly and deliver value to customers faster.

Scalability and Reliability

A well-designed platform can improve the scalability and reliability of an organization’s applications. By providing a scalable and highly available infrastructure, platform engineers can ensure that applications can handle high traffic and remain available even in the face of hardware failures or other types of outages. This reduces the risk of downtime, which can lead to lost revenue and damage to an organization’s reputation.

Cost Savings

Platform engineering can also lead to cost savings for an organization. By providing a shared infrastructure, platform engineers can reduce the need for redundant infrastructure and minimize the amount of hardware and software licenses that an organization needs to purchase. This can result in significant cost savings over time.

Ways to Adopt Platform Engineering

Start Small

One way to adopt platform engineering is to start small. Rather than attempting to build a full-fledged platform all at once, organizations can begin by identifying a single area where a shared infrastructure would be beneficial, such as a common data storage solution or messaging platform. By starting small, organizations can minimize the risk and cost of the initiative, while also gaining experience and proving the value of the approach.

Collaborate with Other Teams

Another way to adopt platform engineering is to collaborate with other teams within an organization. By working closely with other teams, platform engineers can gain a better understanding of their needs and requirements and design a platform that meets those needs. This can also help to build trust and increase buy-in from other teams, which can be critical for the success of a platform engineering initiative.

Define a Clear Governance Model

It is important to define a clear governance model for the platform to ensure that it is used appropriately and in a standardized way. This includes defining guidelines for the use of the platform, as well as roles and responsibilities for platform engineers and other teams. A governance model can help to ensure that the platform is used in a consistent and controlled manner, which is critical for the success of the initiative.

Embrace Automation

Automation is critical to the success of platform engineering. By automating the deployment and management of infrastructure, platform engineers can reduce the risk of human error and ensure that infrastructure is always in a consistent and predictable state. This also frees up time for platform engineers to focus on more strategic initiatives, such as improving the platform’s scalability and reliability.

Common Tools Used in Platform Engineering

Kubernetes

Kubernetes is an open-source platform for managing containerized workloads and services. It provides a way to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications, which makes it an ideal tool for platform engineering. Kubernetes provides a way to define and deploy services in a consistent and scalable way, which can improve the efficiency and reliability of an organization’s applications.

Docker

Docker is a platform for building, shipping, and running applications in containers. Containers provide a way to package an application and all its dependencies into a single unit, which makes it easy to deploy and manage. Docker provides a way to automate the deployment of containerized applications, which can improve the speed and efficiency of an organization’s development and deployment process.

Terraform

Terraform is an open-source tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure. It provides a way to define infrastructure as code, which makes it easy to automate the deployment and management of infrastructure. Terraform can be used to manage a wide range of infrastructure, including virtual machines, containers, and cloud services.

Jenkins

Jenkins is an open-source automation server that provides a way to automate the build, test, and deployment of software. It can be used to integrate with a wide range of tools and services, including version control systems, testing frameworks, and deployment tools. Jenkins provides a way to automate the entire software delivery process, which can improve the speed and efficiency of an organization’s development process.

Skills Needed to Become a Platform Engineer

Infrastructure as Code: Infrastructure as code (IaC) is a fundamental skill for platform engineering. IaC provides a way to define and manage infrastructure in a consistent and repeatable way, which is critical for the success of a platform engineering initiative. Platform engineers should be familiar with IaC tools, such as Terraform and CloudFormation, and understand how to define infrastructure as code.
Automation: Automation is a key skill for platform engineering. Platform engineers should be familiar with automation tools, such as Ansible and Puppet, and understand how to automate the deployment and management of infrastructure. They should also be familiar with CI/CD tools, such as Jenkins, and understand how to automate the build, test, and deployment of software.
Cloud Computing: Cloud computing is a critical skill for platform engineering. Platform engineers should be familiar with cloud providers, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, and understand how to deploy and manage infrastructure in the cloud. They should also be familiar with cloud services, such as containers and serverless computing, and understand how to use them to build scalable and reliable platforms.
Security: Security is a critical skill for platform engineering. Platform engineers should be familiar with security best practices, such as network segmentation, encryption, and access control, and understand how to implement them in the context of a platform. They should also be familiar with security tools, such as intrusion detection systems and vulnerability scanners, and understand how to use them to identify and mitigate security risks.

Conclusion

Platform engineering is an approach to software development that focuses on building and maintaining a platform that can be used by other teams or applications within an organization. It provides a set of common services and infrastructure, which can be consumed by other teams to build and deploy their own applications. Platform engineering provides a number of benefits, including standardization and reusability, improved productivity, scalability and reliability, and cost savings.

Organizations can adopt platform engineering by starting small, collaborating with other teams, defining a clear governance model, and embracing automation. There are a number of tools that are commonly used in platform engineering, including Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, and Jenkins. Platform engineers should have a range of skills, including infrastructure as code, automation, cloud computing, and security.

Overall, platform engineering is an important approach to software development that can help organizations to improve their productivity