The 10 benefits of platform engineering

Summary

Platform engineering offers transformative value by driving efficiency, consistency, scalability, developer satisfaction, reliability, security, cost control, compliance, resource optimization, and cross-team collaboration—all under a framework of robust governance.

As Gartner predicts, organizations are increasingly recognizing platform engineering as the backbone of streamlined software delivery and developer-operator alignment.

Action points: begin by mapping your workflow pain points (e.g., delays, manual toil, inconsistent environments); prioritize 2-3 benefits (like automation or cost reduction) for early wins; design and pilot a minimal viable platform to deliver those benefits; then measure impact and iterate toward broader adoption.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that platform engineering holds the key to refining development workflows, boosting efficiency (for product development), and fortifying DevOps methodologies.

To quote Gartner®:

“By 2026, 80% of large software engineering organizations will establish platform engineering teams as internal providers of reusable services, components and tools for application delivery. Platform engineering will ultimately solve the central problem of cooperation between software developers and operators.”(Gartner Article, What Is Platform Engineering?, Lori Perri, October 26, 2023.)

In August 2023, platform engineering was mentioned in the Gartner Hype Cycle™ for Software Engineering, 2023, in which Gartner explores “software engineering practices that organizations are using to move from ideation to value creation.”

Software engineers and industry leaders alike turn to the Gartner Hype Cycle reports as a trusted resource to stay abreast of new trends and to fully understand how these advancements influence the broader software engineering landscape.

What are the 10 benefits of platform engineering?

A platform engineering solution brings several key benefits to organizations, particularly those looking to streamline their development processes and embrace DevOps practices.

Here are the top 10:

1. Increased efficiency and agility: Automated workflows and standardized, pre-built tools help speed up development, testing, and deployment processes, allowing teams to deliver features more quickly and frequently. And, to respond quickly to changing market needs, effectively reducing the time-to-market for new features and products.

Platform engineering guarantees that your toolchain progresses coherently. Without this synergy, your team might resort to makeshift workflow changes that can be difficult to track and sustain. Providing developers with support from a platform engineering team means that any issues can be quickly resolved, ensuring seamless and timely product releases.

2. Consistency and standardization: Platform engineering solutions promote consistency in the development environment and operational processes across different teams, by providing a standard method of building and running applications. This reduces the likelihood of errors and incompatibilities and facilitates collaboration of development teams easier.

3. Improved scalability: Platforms are typically designed to scale effectively, handling increased workloads or users without needing reconfiguration or additional development time. As your product develops and scales, the development processes must adapt accordingly. With growth comes the need to integrate new technologies and comply with additional regulations, like expanding your storage solutions or meeting new compliance standards.

4. Enhanced developer experience: A well-designed platform removes much of the underlying complexity, allowing developers to focus on coding rather than infrastructure or deployment details. This can lead to higher developer satisfaction and productivity. And, help attract and retain skilled developers by making the development process more enjoyable and efficient.

5. Higher reliability: Many platform engineering solutions include robust monitoring and alerting tools that help ensure system health and uptime, contributing to overall service reliability.

6. Better security: Centralized management of infrastructure and applications through a platform enables more consistent and up-to-date security policies and controls. This reduces the risk of breaches and vulnerabilities and ensures that the developed applications meet all security standards.

7. Cost savings: Through platform engineering, companies can effectively control infrastructure expenses by consolidating resource management. This approach helps prevent the development team from setting up superfluous infrastructure, leading to more efficient use of resources and overall cost management.

8. Ease of compliance: With a platform, it becomes easier to enforce compliance with industry regulations and standards across all development and deployment activities, thanks to uniform processes and integrated compliance checks.

9. Resource optimization: By streamlining operations and reducing the need for manual intervention, organizations can make more efficient use of their technical resources and workforce.

10. Improved collaboration: Platform engineering facilitates collaboration and communication among dispersed teams, including developers, data engineers, architects, and business stakeholders, breaking down business silos and improving cross-functional coordination.

BONUS – Establishing governance: Platform engineering creates a framework for developers to work within established standards and guardrails around software development. This includes the ability to enforce standardized configurations, encourage Infrastructure as Code principles, set access controls and permissions, log and track all changes and actions within a platform, implement budget controls and more.

Learn more about how Calibo can help you establish your platform engineering solution here.

FAQ

What are the main benefits of platform engineering for organizations?
It improves efficiency, scalability, security, compliance, cost control, developer satisfaction, and cross-team collaboration while reducing manual toil and inconsistencies.

How does platform engineering impact developers directly?
By providing self-service access to tools and standardized workflows, it reduces cognitive load, eliminates repetitive tasks, and allows developers to focus more on innovation.

What steps should companies take to realize these benefits?
Identify workflow bottlenecks, prioritize early wins like automation or cost reduction, pilot a minimal viable platform, and iterate based on measurable impact.