Guide to Platform Engineering: Everyone’s Doing It, Should You Be Too?

Platform engineering is an emerging field focusing on integrating tools and designing workflows to enable self-service capabilities for software developers, particularly in cloud computing services and Infrastructure as Code tools. It differs from DevOps by reducing the need for coordination between development and operations teams, and from site reliability engineering (SRE) by serving developers rather than operations teams. The benefits of platform engineering include faster, more frequent releases, standardized workflows, and a better developer experience. However, it may not be necessary for early-stage startups or small companies. To build a successful platform engineering team, one must treat the platform as a product, connect it to business goals, manage expectations, effectively communicate with internal customers, and possess empathy, strong communication skills, willingness to teach, and experience in relevant technologies.