Today companies are pressured to offer complex, scalable and modular product ecosystems that can empower fast time to market, seamless integration of emerging technologies and highly relevant solutions quickly in a fast-changing digital environment. And it wouldn’t be possible without a discipline called platform engineering – the process that allows products to be powerful by themselves as well as to fit into a cohesive ecosystem.
The evolution of Platform Engineering is aggressive making it part of the top technology trends starting 2024 and beyond. Recent studies indicated that about 83% of the organizations are implementing platform engineering where 20% have fully adopted, 44% have partially adopted and 19% are still planning to implement. In this blog, we will demonstrate how product engineering acts as an important pillar for large scale products ecosystem.
Platform Engineering for Scalable and Modular Solutions
We say that platform engineering is a critical enabler of modularity and scalability of products as it provides the basic tools, frameworks and infrastructure necessary for integration and optimal use of resources. It entails the design and maintenance of common environments, instruments and reusable frameworks which enable teams to independently build, test, and deploy modular products. Modularization allows for seamless reusability of features because components like APIs, SDKs and microservices allow teams to utilize features from multiple products and cut down on development time and resources.
It also allows for simple replacement or addition of components, as the entire system does not have to be disturbed. In addition, platform engineering also helps scalability by utilizing cloud-native technologies, microservices architectures and automation. It is easier to scale because a well-engineered platform allows for both horizontal and vertical scaling and hence the growing demand from users can be met without changing the underlying architecture. Communication is improved by offering a single source of truth, eliminating silos, and facilitating seamless communication across different teams.
By encouraging collaboration, optimizing processes, and encouraging reuse, platform engineering helps organizations build versatile and high-quality products that are well-prepared for the future and can quickly adjust to changing market conditions.
In 2022, as per a Gartner report, 45% of large software engineering organizations reported having set up platform engineering teams to serve as key providers of reusable services, components and tools for application delivery. This has increased and assumed to be 80% by 2026. In support of platform services that will enhance development efficiency, Gartner further projects that within four years, about 80% of development companies will implement such services internally.
Designing for Success: Key Pillars of Platform Design
Building a platform that can serve as a foundation for developing scalable ecosystems requires appropriate trade-offs to be made on several platform levels. What are some of the main architecture aspects that should be covered?
1. Security by design:
This is the general principle of any platform development that makes sure security is integrated into the entire design process from the very beginning. This model works in the direction of including security in every phase of the life cycle of structures, from the design and planning of its construction to the operation and routine maintenance of the completed structure. Features’ implementation such as RBAC, encryption or threat detection, enables the ecosystem to be more resilient to new threats. As specific examples, advancement and cost-effective deployment of security measures help manage the risks involved, assure regulatory compliance and foster customers’ confidence in the platform.
2. Interoperability:
This is one of the most important aspects of a platform architecture as it enables communication and interaction among different systems, applications and devices. Platforms can enhance the interchange of data and operational elements across diverse settings by implementing open standards, APIs, and modular frameworks, thus promoting adaptability and growth. Furthermore, not only does interoperability enable integration with external providers, it also enables organizations to deploy new technologies and respond to new consumer requirements without revamping their current systems. At the end of the day, this paradigm enables a more seamless, effective and meaningful experience for the end user.
3. Performance Optimisation:
This is an important area when designing a platform as it involves the technologies and services which enable fast, dependable and scalable user experiences delivery despite growing workload. This is the case as it involves considering the architectures to be built such that latency is reduced, throughput is maximised and peak load-handling capacity is optimized. Strategies to improve performance by spreading workload, decreasing response time, improving data access and project accomplishment include load balancing, caching, database indexing, and asynchronous processing.
Also, platforms should leverage strong monitoring tools to detect potential disruptions and permit dynamic control. Scalability is the last feature but definitely not the least, it simply means the platform can evolve with users’ requirements through optimal resource allocation and harnessing cloud technologies. Overall performance optimization enhances optimally users’ contentment, the efficiency of operations and the resilience of the platform.
4. Developer-Centric Approach:
Platforms are often successful when created with developers in mind as the vibrant ecosystem thrives. Putting emphasis on a Developer-Centric Approach calls for developing tools, APIs and even documentation to enable developers’ usage to expand, integrate and innovate fast. Owing to this focus, development time is cut down, errors are made to a minimum, and adoption is facilitated by the validation of simplicity, consistency, and ease of use. Additional features like clear onboarding, good SDKs, and good support are other features that ensure an improved developer experience.
At Felix Solutions, we focus on strengthening the platform’s base to build a robust complex product ecosystem in a place. Through our Enterprise Architecture & Platform Engineering, we provide organizations with innovative, scalable, and sustainable solutions. We ensure that your strategic goals are supported by an all-encompassing architecture that allows for optimization and integration of systems to improve operational efficiencies and information flow. We enhance collaboration and decision-making by custom designing platforms and embedding them into the ecosystem. From mobile application development to setting strategic roadmaps for technology, we assist businesses in adopting digitalization, transforming technology, and providing opportunities for sustainable growth.
Conclusion
Platform engineering made its grand entry into the analysts’ world in 2024 and appeared for more than 10 different Gartner hype Cycles! This is almost a 5x increase in analyst interest from 2023. It is interesting to note that, as per Cloudbees report, almost 30% of Platform engineering is represented by cloud engineering, further down, 25% respectively from the infrastructure departments, followed by development departments (20%) shared services (13%), and operations (13%). There has also been a burning need for platform engineering that enhances developers’ experience. Based on one such survey report about the platform engineering process within IT organizations, it is worth noting that the majority 83% of respondents reported already full integration into their workflow.
Users may never come in contact with the platform, but they appreciate its features on a daily basis even if it is the use of seamless mashup of different apps or scaling without effort during high usage times. Platform engineering is helping businesses who are seeking to differ through creativity and evolution. In general, however, it enables the existence of sophisticated product ecosystems which are scalable, innovative, flexible, and suitable for growth without any hindrances. And because the growth of the sector is still encouraging, technologies such as serverless computing, artificial intelligence and edge computing have the potential to dominate the future of platform engineering scope such systems that can address present issues and future challenges.