Internal Developer Platforms: The Heart of Platform Engineering

Platform engineering involves creating a supportive, scalable and efficient infrastructure that allows developers to focus on delivering high-quality software quickly. Many of us have been doing this approach for years, just without a proper name tied to it.

To get platform engineering right, many have turned to the concept of platforms as products (PaaP), where you put the emphasis on the user experience of the developers themselves and view your internal developers as customers. This implies platforms should have a clear value proposition, a roadmap and dedicated resources so that our internal developers have all the resources we would arm our external customers with if preparing them to onboard into a new product.

However, we can’t discuss the popular trend of treating PaaP without discussing what lies at the heart of this conversation. The PaaP approach is particularly pivotal in the realm of internal developer platforms (IDPs), which are central to the platform engineering craze because you can’t get your external platform right if your internal one is a mess. Traditional approaches often overlook the necessity of aligning the platform’s capabilities with developers’ needs, leading to poor adoption and suboptimal outcomes.

This is where internal developer platforms come into play, serving as the backbone of this engineering paradigm. These platforms are not just about providing tools and services; they are about crafting an experience that empowers developers to perform their best work. When platforms are designed with a deep understanding of what developers truly need, they can significantly enhance productivity and satisfaction.

IDPs are usually referred to as developer-focused infrastructure platforms (not to be confused with a developer control plane) and were made popular by the well-known “Team Topologies” book (they’re something we’ve prioritized for a long time here at Ambassador). “Team Topologies” focuses on structuring business and technology teams for peak efficiency, and a big focus is highlighting the need for platform teams to offer platforms as an internal product to enable and accelerate other teams.

The benefit of internal platforms is that they enable teams to spend more time on delivering business value, provide guardrails for security and compliance, standardize across teams and create an ease of deployment. Here’s why IDPs are critical to build that solid foundation for your IDP and perfect your platform strategy as a whole:

Why Internal Developer Platforms Are Critical

Enhanced Developer Experience (DX)

Internal developer platforms focus on improving the overall developer experience, making it easier for developers to access the tools and resources they need. Your developers should not be dreading their experience; instead, they should be able to focus on the things that matter most: good development.

The more you focus on making your internal platform friction-free, it will lead to increased efficiency and creativity as developers are able to focus more on solving business problems rather than grappling with infrastructural complexities. With easier access to tools and fewer operational hurdles, developers can experiment and innovate more freely. This environment encourages the exploration of new technologies and approaches, which can lead to breakthroughs in product development.

Friction-free IDPs include well-documented processes, standardized tools and removing manual work where possible (automation is your friend). If you’ve built your IDP to meet these requirements, then your devs will be happier and more productive.

Streamlined Operations and Resource Management

Speaking of standardization — by standardizing development environments, internal platforms reduce variability and streamline operations across the development life cycle. This not only speeds up the development process but also reduces the likelihood of errors, leading to more stable releases.

Having components and tools centralized in an internal developer platform streamlines the foundation for developer self-service, success and responsibility. A developer platform empowers both developers and platform engineers to focus on and excel in their core business areas, and enable faster development cycles and the ability to ship software with speed and safety.

A strong IDP allows organizations to optimize resource usage, ensuring that developers have access to necessary resources without overprovisioning. This can lead to cost savings and more efficient use of infrastructure.

And as a bonus, a comprehensive IDP helps you not just attract new talent but retain it as well. In a competitive tech landscape, devs are looking for environments where they can increase their skills and work on exciting projects that don’t compromise their intelligence or threaten their ability to innovate freely. Well-designed internal developer platforms can be a key differentiator in whether future devs will want to work on your team.

Avoiding Common Anti-Patterns That Undermine Your API Strategy

A recent example made this recommendation very clear. Anti-patterns that can undermine API management are largely the result of a lack of a cohesive strategy and plan, and biting off more than a team can chew. This is where we see the opportunity for a platform approach to API development.

IDPs help you craft your API platform with a clear division of responsibilities, ensuring that business logic remains separate from the platform itself.

How Do I Implement a Successful IDP?

Note that if you choose not to take a proactive approach in your team’s development of their IDP, your developers will find a way to do it anyway. 

“I’d argue that anyone who develops software these days has a platform. Accidental platforms, in many cases, are more difficult to manage. Try to take an active role in managing your platform to avoid issues later on,” said Erik Wilde, an industry influencer and recent guest on the “Living on the Edge” podcast.

Therefore, to truly make internal developer platforms a centerpiece of platform engineering and get it right the first time, organizations need to adopt a few strategic practices:

• Understand and anticipate developer needs: Continuous feedback mechanisms should be implemented to ensure the platform evolves in line with developer requirements. Any tool you select should be selected with your developers’ needs in mind, applying a holistic lens throughout every piece of your platform. Recognizing that with complex environments with numerous components, managing and certifying runtime dependencies is essential to maintaining high levels of trust with your developers and the stability in your platform.
• Be aware that versioning is a significant challenge over time. Implementing a consistent versioning strategy from the start for all your APIs will enhance your platform’s scalability, reliability and predictability.
• Invest in scalability: As the organization grows, the platform should be able to scale seamlessly to accommodate more developers and increase workload without performance dips. Ensure the tools you’re building your platform on come with the proper flexibility, room for integrations and composability to expand with your future anticipated growth.
• Ensure robust security and compliance: The platform should incorporate strong security measures and compliance controls to protect sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements. Standardization and proper governance can help promote the security of your IDP, but ensure the proper code reviews, protections and protections from security risks are all in place before you socialize your IDP.
• Promote internal adoption: Through internal promotion and demonstrating clear value propositions, you can encourage widespread adoption of the platform. Involve your own devs early and often in the process, and consider involving other relevant stakeholders as well (think product managers, business leadership, someone from your operations team, etc.). And remember: While it might be obvious to developers and their managers that an IDP could increase developer productivity and focus, it’s not always obvious to other stakeholders. Chances are you’re going to have to prove that your IDP can unlock developer effectiveness and efficiency by building a business case.

There Is No Platform Engineering Without IDPs

In the end, internal developer platforms (IDPs) are not merely a component of platform engineering; they are its core. As platform engineering evolves, placing IDPs at the heart of this transformation is essential for organizations aspiring to lead in the digital age. With the ongoing migration to the cloud and the customization of platforms atop this infrastructure, a deep understanding of IDPs and their pivotal role in platform engineering is becoming increasingly crucial.