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Tools of choice for a platform engineering strategy

By Chris Clark, Program Manager at The Linux Foundation

The year 2023 has seen the rise of the platform engineering trend that is reshaping how companies approach the deployment and management of infrastructure. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of software engineering organizations will have a platform team. The focal point of this transformation is the development of self-serving platforms, allowing end-users to provision, manage, and scale the necessary infrastructure components seamlessly.

Platforms are all about interoperability 

These self-service platforms, intricate ecosystems in their own right, are often composed of a myriad of tools strategically assembled under the umbrella of an Internal Developer Platform (IDP). These platforms are like legos where bricks are put together and companies are looking for off-the-shelf solutions to populate their toolsets. I predict OSS infrastructure tools to be a cornerstone of these platforms for two reasons.

First, because of OSS ability to effortlessly integrate with a diverse array of tools, forming a cohesive and interoperable environment. This interoperability not only streamlines operations but future-proofs the platform against the constraints of proprietary silos.

Second, the flexibility and modifiability that OSS solutions offer is a must-have for these platforms. That is because most of these platforms are built by large organizations with specific needs that proprietary software often cannot fulfill. 

Cloud-native is here to stay

As the industry landscape continues to evolve, the demand for OSS solutions is converging with another imperative: cloud-native technologies. Companies are not only seeking open-source tools but also those that seamlessly embrace the principles of cloud-native architecture. This shift is underscored by the established adoption of Kubernetes, which has become the de facto orchestrator for containerized workloads, including stateful applications.

While the strong adoption of Kubernetes is undeniable, no one wants to deal with its complexity. Looking ahead, companies are poised to explore ways to comprehensively simplify their application lifecycles' management. From efficient containerization of applications with Jib and Buildpacks, to the swift deployment and scaling of containerized workloads with Portainer and Korifi, the focus is on achieving a seamless and agile application lifecycle management process.

Platforms with secure images

In the realm of platform engineering, the deployment of secure container images is another challenge that companies will need to address. Here are two methodologies that are commonly employed.

The first approach involves internal image construction, where companies take the responsibility of building images from the ground up. This method affords a high level of control, ensuring an intimate understanding of the image contents. An essential aspect of this process is the ability to generate a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) for each container image. The SBOM serves as a comprehensive inventory, detailing the components and dependencies within the image. By employing this practice, companies mitigate the risk of overlooking any element of their stack.

Alternatively, companies can opt for the second approach by relying on community-curated images, exemplified by platforms like Docker Official Images and Paketo Buildpacks. These images, crafted and maintained by the community, provide a valuable shortcut for organizations seeking secure and optimized container images. Leveraging best practices for diverse software stacks, these adhere to industry standards such as quick response to emerging security vulnerabilities where updates are applied as soon as security patches become available. This approach offers a balance between efficiency and security, leveraging the collective expertise of the community to stay abreast of evolving threat landscapes.

Conclusion

In the coming year, the rise of platform engineering will significantly influence the landscape of infrastructure tools. Flexibility and interoperability will be key selection criteria favoring open-source and community-led projects. With the escalation of data compliance laws and the increasing cost of security breaches, companies can no longer sideline security. However, finding the right tools is worthwhile; a recent report found that 68% of companies using platform engineering are experiencing an increase in development velocity, while 42% report that their speed of development has improved significantly.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Clark is Program Manager at The Linux Foundation.