What is an Internal Developer Platform (IDP)?

An internal developer platform (IDP) is a self-service layer that sits on top of an organization's infrastructure and development tools, abstracting many of these components' underlying complexity. It comprises integrated tools and services designed to enable development teams to build, deploy, and manage applications more efficiently. IDPs provide a unified interface for developers to interact with the entire software lifecycle, from code to production, while automating many routine tasks, enforcing best practices, and ensuring a consistent experience across an organization and its different environments. Key components of internal developer platforms include a self-service developer portal, automated workflows and integration with existing systems, infrastructure management, environment management and application configuration, and deployment management and monitoring.