“You build it, you run it” sounds empowering until developers spend more time on infrastructure than features. Platform engineering offers a middle path between centralised ops and full developer responsibility.
The Problem
DevOps promised developer autonomy. The reality? Developers became reluctant operators. They could deploy to Kubernetes, but they didn’t want to learn Kubernetes. They had access to everything but expertise in nothing infrastructure-related.
Cognitive load was immense. To ship a feature, developers needed to understand CI pipelines, container registries, Kubernetes manifests, service mesh configuration, observability setup, and security policies. Most just wanted to write code.
Every team reinvented solutions. Each built their own deployment scripts, their own monitoring dashboards, their own secrets management. Duplication was everywhere, standards were nowhere.
Our Solution
Internal Developer Platform (IDP) emerged as the answer. Not a product you buy, but a set of curated tools, golden paths, and self-service capabilities. Developers get abstractions; platform engineers handle complexity.
Golden paths for common scenarios. Need a new microservice? A template provides CI pipeline, Dockerfile, Kubernetes manifests, monitoring, and documentation. Developers customise the application code; everything else just works.
Self-service provisioning through GitOps. Developers add a YAML file to a repository; the platform creates their namespace, sets up networking, configures secrets access, and deploys their application. No tickets, no waiting.
Documentation as product not afterthought. The platform has its own docs site, tutorials, and examples. New developers onboard through guided paths rather than tribal knowledge.
Feedback loops with platform users. Regular surveys, office hours, and feature requests. The platform team ships what developers need, not what platform engineers find interesting.
The Benefits
Developer velocity increased measurably. Time from code commit to production dropped. Developers spend time on business logic rather than YAML.
Consistency improved across teams. Shared foundations mean shared patterns. Debugging one service teaches patterns applicable to others.
Operations scaled without linear headcount growth. Self-service eliminated ticket queues. Platform engineers build capabilities rather than perform tasks.
Developer satisfaction rose. The annual survey showed infrastructure frustration declining. “The platform just works” became common feedback.
Platform engineering isn’t DevOps renamed. It’s recognising that developers and operators have different contexts, and building bridges rather than expecting everyone to become full-stack infrastructure experts.