Is Platform Engineering Replacing DevOps?

The rise of Platform Engineering is sparking intriguing discussions about its role in modern tech. Uncover why this evolving discipline is not just a replacement for DevOps but a powerful complement that enhances its core principles.
The emergence of Platform Engineering has ignited debates about its relationship with DevOps. While some may wonder if it is set to replace DevOps, the reality is more nuanced. Having worked on DevOps, DevSecOps and Data Architecture conferences, insights gathered from dialogues with enterprise architects, developers, engineers or security specialists suggest an interesting observation— rather than being a replacement, Platform Engineering serves as a complementary discipline that enhances and builds upon the principles established by DevOps.
What Is Platform Engineering?
Platform Engineering focuses on creating Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) that provide essential tools and workflows for developers. These platforms enable self-service, on-demand access to infrastructure, allowing developers to set up new environments and efficiently test their changes. This approach is designed to enhance the developer experience by abstracting away infrastructure complexities and providing self-service capabilities. By adopting a product mindset, Platform Engineering combines learnings from DevOps and DevSecOps, delivering a set of tools that guide development teams toward success. It establishes standardised processes and tools across the development lifecycle, minimising variations and enhancing predictability. This consistency simplifies onboarding, collaboration, and knowledge sharing among developers, regardless of project or team.
Accelerating Software Delivery
Platform Engineering significantly contributes to accelerating software delivery for high-impact applications. By abstracting infrastructure complexities and providing self-service capabilities, it enables teams to focus on delivering business value without being hindered by operational challenges. Key components such as Infrastructure Automation, Containerisation, and Orchestration play a crucial role in speeding up the software development process.
Continuous Updates and Resilience
Both Platform Engineering and DevOps share a common objective: improving software delivery processes through streamlined workflows, automation, and collaboration. Platform Engineering lays the groundwork for DevOps by creating the necessary infrastructure and tools for continuous integration and deployment. Meanwhile, DevOps fosters the cultural shift required to maximise these capabilities, ensuring that continuous updates are delivered with high resilience.
Balancing Stability, Security and Reliability
Organisations can adopt several strategies to balance infrastructure stability with security and reliability which include taking a holistic approach to security, combining technical measures with user awareness and regular assessments. Standardising tools and processes enhances security while allowing Platform Engineering teams to ensure the platform remains self-serviceable and continually updated.
Collaboration Between Teams
For a DevOps team to collaborate effectively with Platform Engineers, fostering a culture of open communication, shared ownership, and continuous improvement is essential. Clear and well-defined plans, along with a roadmap, facilitate effective collaboration, ensuring that goals and objectives are clearly communicated and understood by all team members. It is also crucial that shared goals align with business objectives. DevOps leaders should possess both technical skills and business acumen to make informed decisions that drive value for the organisation.
Emerging Challenges and Opportunities
As Platform Engineering advances, several emerging challenges are likely to arise.
- Managing the complexity that comes with integrating and maintaining increasingly sophisticated platforms.
- Ensuring seamless interoperability while avoiding tool sprawl as more tools and technologies are adopted.
- Balancing the need for standardisation with the flexibility to accommodate diverse developer needs.
- Maintaining continuous vigilance in security and compliance within the platform ecosystem to protect infrastructure from emerging threats while adhering to regulatory requirements.
Despite these challenges, the future of Platform Engineering is promising, with its role expected to grow as organisations adopt more advanced technologies. Innovations such as AI, machine learning, and serverless architecture will further enhance the capabilities of Platform Engineering. As technology and market demands continue to evolve, businesses will need to remain agile and competitive, making Platform Engineering a strategic approach for software engineering organisations.
In conclusion, rather than replacing DevOps, Platform Engineering is evolving alongside it, creating a synergistic relationship that enhances the overall software development lifecycle. By leveraging the strengths of both disciplines, we can achieve greater efficiency, resilience, and innovation in software delivery processes.
To explore more about the future of software development and the synergy of platform engineering and DevOps/DevSecOps, we invite you to join us at two upcoming events:
- Modern DevOps Melbourne 2024 – 8 October at Grand Hyatt
- AppSec & DevSecOps Sydney 2025 – 12 February, Royal Randwick Racecourse
If you are interested in speaking at the events, feel free to reach out to Maddie Abe (Content Director).