A colleague of mine wrote a blog recently titled “Do you really need to build your own internal Develop Platform/Portal” here.
I completely get it. Why spend years creating an Internal Developer Portal (IDP) when you can buy something built by clever people who have gone through all the pain you are about to go through?
These clever people have, in total, hundreds of years of experience and thousands of iterations and try these test runs. So, let’s not reinvent the wheel.
Building your own IDP is a bit like building your own car from scratch. It’s complicated, takes a lot of time and energy, and all-in-all, quite unnecessary, so why do that to yourself? Instead, why not buy one that’s had all the trials and errors ironed out? A lot of research and experience has gone into making a good quality car already. Why waste that knowledge?
Unexpected benefits
Now, let’s talk about some unexpected IDPs benefits that you might not even have thought of.
There are roughly about 30 million (depending on who you talk to or what you search for) software developers on planet Earth (let’s not even get into if there are developers in other universes!).
I know a few software developers, and they are all motivated by the following:
- Innovation: New technologies, improved processes, enhanced features, disruptive solutions, integrations and interoperability.
- Learning opportunities: Everyone wants to learn cool and exciting new things, right?
- Collaborative environment: Developers like to share ideas and make software better and faster, so the next developer gives them a high five. It’s a collaborative effort.
- Autonomy and responsibility: Humans thrive when they’re empowered to make decisions and take ownership of their work.
- Work-life balance: Ah, who doesn’t want to balance work and fun?
Let’s dig into these five motivators (or benefits):
1. Innovation
For anyone to be innovative, they must push the boundaries, learn and do things nobody has done before. This is no different in software development. Being innovative in software development might mean using new or existing tools in a completely new way to achieve something amazing.
The problem with using new technology is, usually, the initial setup and learning curve. How is it set up? How is it secured? How do we make sure that developers get to use this new technology, but aren’t spending months on the setup?
Well, this is exactly where an IDP can help. A good IDP will allow technology setup to happen once and get reused repeatedly. Secured? We need a secure environment, but that security mustn’t stifle innovation. We also need to be able to use this technology from day one in an impactful way.
How do we get developers to work on new technology quickly from day one? Use an IDP. Developers want pre-built project templates so they don’t have to build all the boring stuff!
Project templates are things such as:
- Directory structure – a well-organized layout of folders and subfolders for source code, test files, etc.
- Configuration files – Essential files that set up the environment, dependencies and settings for the project, e.g. package.json for Node.js projects or .gitignore for specifying files to ignore in version control.
- Documentation – Initial documentation to help developers understand the structure of the project, coding standards, and any required initial setup steps.
This is precisely what an IDP does. It gives you access to pre-configured, best-in-class technology that is secure and easily deployable. This allows developers to focus on innovation, and on building great data and digital products – faster than before.
By using an IDP, we allow developers to rapidly experiment in a safe environment—fail fast, as I like to say.
2. Learning opportunities
Imagine you have access to a platform that lets you reuse code and artefacts quickly. That very same platform also gives you a self-service interface for instantiating technology stacks and infrastructure (in a secure manner with pre-built DevOps pipelines) with a click of a button.
Imagine the amount of time saved by not waiting around for infrastructure or talking to five different teams just to get something to trial. Don’t even get me started on getting new technology approved!
If you aren’t doing mundane tasks and you can innovate in safe environments deployed in minutes, you will fail fast and learn vast amounts. Will this tech solve a problem for my use case? Being able to answer that quickly is invaluable. I believe we learn the most when we’re thrown into the proverbial deep end by doing something hands-on.
3. Collaborative environment
We all need a bit of help from our friends when we’re stuck Or to talk to the clever person who knows everything about everything. It’s also nice to share things we’ve learnt or built. Share once and receive a thousand times over – said someone important once, a long time ago.
How do we share code easily with our peers? Design documents, mock-ups, and high-level and low-level designs, to name a few. All within an IDP, not only can developers get up and running with new technology rapidly, but they can also have a single pane view of all the organization’s developers’ code and documents.
An IDP is one place for developers, designers, architects, in fact the entire IT organization, to share information. Sharing is caring.
4. Autonomy and responsibility
There aren’t many of us who like to be micro-managed. When I am tasked with something, I want to be able to do it efficiently and in my own style.
Nobody likes to wait for approval upon approval or for weeks to get new technology and infrastructure. Well, you guessed it, with an IDP, that completely goes away.
No more waiting around for tech and infrastructure. No more having to raise tickets with five (or more) separate teams for something that should take one minute. You still have workflow approvals (if you want), but getting one person to approve or pre-approve your request is much faster than the alternative.
Now though, you click a single button for your entire tech stack to get deployed (stand alone or through a DevOps pipeline). I like being able to click a single button and have lots of hard work happen automatically. Hello IDP.
5. Work-life balance
Let’s be honest; probably the most important motivator. If we aren’t forced to do mundane things, we will automatically work on things that are important to us and valuable to the company.
If we aren’t spending 25-50% of our time on mundane tasks, we’ll be working on things we actually want to work on – the high-value motivating work. IDPs remove mundane tasks and facilitate an environment to innovate.
Conclusion
In conclusion, no one aspires to be bogged down by mundane tasks or to endure the frustration of waiting on multiple requests that take weeks for approval. Imagine the potential of engaging with cutting-edge technology that truly adds value to your organization.
Increased efficiency at work means not only completing your current workload more swiftly but also tackling those long-postponed projects. Achieving this level of productivity can free up more time to enjoy with your friends and family. If gaining that precious time sounds appealing, reach out to me, and let’s make it happen together.
Learn more about the Calibo platform by reading one of our factsheets here.
