Platform Engineering : Understanding its Relevance and Application

Platform engineering is chiefly concerned with designing, developing, and maintaining software platforms. Since the software platform is typically related to the framework and tools used for developing software, the platform engineers are responsible for creating and managing the required infrastructure for this. They are DevOps experts who know how to leverage the best possible methodologies for optimal performance outcomes &? minimize the cognitive load of the developers while engaging and creating software. Platform engineers also set up and maintain elements that make up build and software delivery processes so that developers don’t have to become experts in these to self-serve them.

The primary goal of platform engineering is to enable developers to build and deliver software more efficiently and effectively. However, platform engineers work on various aspects of the platform, some of them are listed below:

-Architecture and Design: They work in sync with software architects to design the overall structure and components of the platform. They identify the key functionalities, define interfaces and ensure scalability along with security.?

?-Development and Integration: They write codes and configure software components along with integrating technologies.?

-Infrastructure: Platform engineers are concerned with management of the infrastructure that supports servers, networks, storage, and cloud services. They aim at ensuring a? highly flexible and scalable platform.

-Deployment: Platform engineers plan and strategize deployment plans to streamline the process and manage applications. This requires seamless integration, continuous deployment (CI/CD), and infrastructure as code (IaC) practices.

-Maintenance: Platform engineers closely monitor and maintain the software platforms. It enables tracking the performance and optimizing as per the standard practice.

-Security and Compliance: They design key strategies for implementing security measures to protect the platform and the applications running on it. From authentication, authorization, encryption, to compliance with relevant regulations and industry standards is one of the prime concerns that platform engineers look into.?

Some of the popular platform engineering job roles are Platform Engineer, ML Platform Engineer, Serverless Platform Engineer, Edge Architect (IoT Platform Engineer), and Core Platform Engineer, to name a few.?

Applications of Platform Engineering

Platform engineering can be applied across industries, below are some of the applications of Platform Engineering:

1. Cloud Computing Platform

Platform Engineering aids in establishing and managing cloud computing platforms like AWS, Azure, etc. It is chiefly concerned with deployment, management, and scaling of applications in the cloud.? In addition to providing services like virtual machines, containers, storage, and networking, platform engineers also ensure cloud platform's high availability, security, and performance.?

2. Internet of Things Platform

Platform engineers contribute significantly in ensuring connection and management of a large number of devices. They design infrastructure that supports device connectivity, data ingestion, storage, and analytics. This in turn also improves the efficiency of next-gen concepts like smart homes, smart agriculture, IoT enabled healthcare system, and much more.?

3. E-commerce Platform

Platform engineering plays a crucial role in building reliable and scalable e-com platforms to support product catalogue, manage inventory, and process payment. They are concerned with end-to-end management from designing the infrastructure, integrating with payment gateways, to optimizing performance.?

4. FinTech Platforms

Platform engineers engaged in building fintech platforms work intricately to build secure and compliant platforms that integrate with banking systems, engage in financial transactions, and ensure data privacy and security. From payment processing to lending and investment management, they work towards ensuring a seamless experience for the users.?

Platform engineering aims at creating a stable, scalable, and efficient software platform that accelerates the development and delivery of applications while ensuring high-quality, reliable, and secure software systems. As platform engineering is becoming widely popular across industries, there is a steep demand for them in the market today.?