Posts Tagged ‘PlatformEngineering’
[RivieraDev2025] Dhruv Kumar – Platform Engineering + AI: The Next-Gen DevOps
At Riviera DEV 2025, Dhruv Kumar delivered an engaging presentation on platform engineering, a discipline reshaping software delivery by addressing modern development challenges. Stepping in for Silva Devi, Dhruv, a senior product manager at CloudBees, explored how platform engineering, augmented by artificial intelligence, streamlines workflows, enhances developer productivity, and mitigates the complexities of cloud-native environments. His talk illuminated the transformative potential of internal developer platforms (IDPs) and AI-driven automation, offering a vision for a more efficient and secure software development lifecycle (SDLC).
The Challenges of Modern Software Development
Dhruv began by highlighting the evolving responsibilities of developers, who now spend only about 11% of their time coding, according to a survey by software.com. The remaining time is consumed by non-coding tasks such as testing, deployment, and managing security vulnerabilities. The shift-left movement, while intended to empower developers by integrating testing and deployment earlier in the process, often burdens them with tasks outside their core expertise. This is compounded by the transition to cloud environments, which introduces complex microservices architectures and distributed systems, creating navigation challenges and integration headaches.
Additionally, the rise of AI has accelerated software development, increasing code volume and tool proliferation, while supply chain attacks exploit these complexities, demanding constant vigilance from developers. Dhruv emphasized that these challenges—fragmented workflows, heightened security risks, and tool overload—necessitate a new approach to streamline processes and empower teams.
Platform Engineering: A Unified Approach
Platform engineering emerges as a solution to these issues, providing a cohesive framework for software delivery. Dhruv defined it as the discipline of designing toolchains and workflows that enable self-service capabilities for engineering teams in the cloud-native era. Central to this is the concept of an internal developer platform (IDP), which integrates tools and processes across the SDLC, from coding to deployment. By establishing a common SDLC model and vocabulary, platform engineering ensures that stakeholders—developers, QA, and security teams—share a unified understanding, reducing miscommunication and enhancing actionability.
Dhruv highlighted three pillars of effective platform engineering: a standardized SDLC model, secure best practices embedded in workflows, and the freedom for developers to use familiar tools. This last point, supported by a Forbes study from September 2023, underscores that happier developers, using tools they prefer, complete tasks 10% faster. By fostering collaboration and reducing context-switching, platform engineering creates an environment where developers can focus on innovation rather than operational overhead.
AI as a Catalyst for Optimization
Artificial intelligence plays a pivotal role in amplifying platform engineering’s impact. Dhruv explained that AI’s value lies not in generating code but in filtering noise and optimizing practices. By leveraging a robust SDLC data model, AI can provide actionable insights, provided it is fed high-quality data. For instance, AI-driven testing can prioritize time-intensive issues, streamline QA processes, and run only relevant tests based on code changes, reducing costs and feedback cycles. Dhruv cited examples like AI agents identifying vulnerabilities in code components or assessing risks in production ecosystems, automating fixes where appropriate.
He also introduced the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard that enables applications to provide context to large language models, enhancing AI’s ability to deliver precise recommendations. From troubleshooting CI/CD pipelines to onboarding new developers, AI, when integrated with platform engineering, empowers teams to address bottlenecks and scale efficiently in a cloud-native world.
Empowering Developers and Securing the Future
Dhruv concluded by emphasizing that platform engineering, bolstered by AI, re-engages all actors in the software delivery process, from developers to leadership. By normalizing data across tools and providing metrics like DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment), IDPs offer visibility into bottlenecks and investment opportunities. This holistic approach not only secures the tech stack against supply chain attacks but also fosters a culture of productivity and developer satisfaction.
He encouraged attendees to explore CloudBees’ platform, which exemplifies these principles by breaking free from traditional platform limitations. Dhruv’s call to action urged developers to adopt platform engineering practices, leverage AI for optimization, and provide feedback to refine these evolving methodologies, ensuring a future where software delivery is both efficient and resilient.
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[DevoxxUK2025] Platform Engineering: Shaping the Future of Software Delivery
Paula Kennedy, co-founder and COO of Cintaso, delivered a compelling lightning talk at DevoxxUK2025, tracing the evolution of platform engineering and its impact on software delivery. Drawing from over a decade of experience, Paula explored how platforms have shifted from siloed operations to force multipliers for developer productivity. Referencing the journey from DevOps to PaaS to Kubernetes, she highlighted current trends like inner sourcing and offered practical strategies for assessing platform maturity. Her narrative, infused with lessons from the past and present, underscored the importance of a user-centered approach to avoid the pitfalls of hype and ensure platforms drive innovation.
The Evolution of Platforms
Paula began by framing platforms as foundations that elevate development, drawing on Gregor Hohpe’s analogy of a Volkswagen chassis enabling diverse car models. She recounted her career, starting in 2002 at Acturus, a SaaS provider with rigid silos between developers and operations. The DevOps movement, sparked in 2009, sought to bridge these divides, but its “you build it, you run it” mantra often overwhelmed teams. The rise of Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), exemplified by Cloud Foundry, simplified infrastructure management, allowing developers to focus on code. However, Paula noted, the complexity of Kubernetes led organizations to build custom internal platforms, sometimes losing sight of the original value proposition.
Current Trends and Challenges
Today, platform engineering is at a crossroads, with Gartner predicting that by 2026, 80% of large organizations will have dedicated teams. Paula highlighted principles like self-service APIs, internal developer portals (e.g., Backstage), and golden paths that guide developers to best practices. She emphasized treating platforms as products, applying product management practices to align with user needs. However, the 2024 DORA report reveals challenges: while platforms boost organizational performance, they often fail to improve software reliability or delivery throughput. Paula attributed this to automation complacency and “platform complacency,” where trust in internal platforms leads to reduced scrutiny, urging teams to prioritize observability and guardrails.
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[DevoxxUK2024] Devoxx UK Introduces: Aspiring Speakers 2024, Short Talks
The Aspiring Speakers 2024 session at DevoxxUK2024, organized in collaboration with the London Java Community, showcased five emerging talents sharing fresh perspectives on technology and leadership. Rajani Rao explores serverless architectures, Yemurai Rabvukwa bridges chemistry and cybersecurity, Farhath Razzaque delves into AI-driven productivity, Manogna Machiraju tackles imposter syndrome in leadership, and Leena Mooneeram offers strategies for platform team synergy. Each 10-minute talk delivers actionable insights, reflecting the diversity and innovation within the tech community. This session highlights the power of new voices in shaping the future of software development.
Serverless Revolution with Rajani Rao
Rajani Rao, a principal technologist at Viva and founder of the Women Coding Community, presents a compelling case for serverless computing. Using a restaurant analogy—contrasting home cooking (traditional computing) with dining out (serverless)—Rajani illustrates how serverless eliminates infrastructure management, enhances scalability, and optimizes costs. She shares a real-world example of porting a REST API from Windows EC2 instances to AWS Lambda, handling 6 billion monthly requests. This shift, completed in a day, resolved issues like CPU overload and patching failures, freeing the team from maintenance burdens. The result was not only operational efficiency but also a monetized service, boosting revenue and team morale. Rajani advocates starting small with serverless to unlock creativity and improve developer well-being.
Chemistry Meets Cybersecurity with Yemurai Rabvukwa
Yemurai Rabvukwa, a cybersecurity engineer and TikTok content creator under STEM Bab, draws parallels between chemistry and cybersecurity. Her squiggly career path—from studying chemistry in China to pivoting to tech during a COVID-disrupted study abroad—highlights transferable skills like analytical thinking and problem-solving. Yemurai identifies three intersections: pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and energy. In pharmaceuticals, both fields use a prevent-detect-respond framework to safeguard systems and ensure quality. The 2017 WannaCry attack on the NHS underscores a multidisciplinary approach in healthcare, involving stakeholders to restore services. In energy, geopolitical risks and ransomware target renewable sectors, emphasizing cybersecurity’s critical role. Yemurai’s journey inspires leveraging diverse backgrounds to tackle complex tech challenges.
AI-Powered Productivity with Farhath Razzaque
Farhath Razzaque, a freelance full-stack engineer and AI enthusiast, explores how generative AI can transform developer productivity. Quoting DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, Farhath emphasizes AI’s potential to accelerate innovation. He outlines five levels of AI adoption: zero-shot prompting for quick error resolution, AI apps like Cursor IDE for streamlined coding, prompt engineering for precise outputs, agentic workflows for collaborative AI agents, and custom solutions using frameworks like LangChain. Farhath highlights open-source tools like NoAI Browser and MakeReal, which rival commercial offerings at lower costs. By automating repetitive tasks and leveraging domain expertise, developers can achieve 10x productivity gains, preparing for an AI-driven future.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome with Manogna Machiraju
Manogna Machiraju, head of engineering at Domestic & General, shares a candid exploration of imposter syndrome in leadership roles. Drawing from her 2017 promotion to engineering manager, Manogna recounts overworking to prove her worth, only to face project failure and team burnout. This prompted reflection on her role’s expectations, realizing she wasn’t meant to code but to enable her team. She advocates building clarity before acting, appreciating team efforts, and embracing tolerable imperfection. Manogna also addresses the challenge of not being the expert in senior roles, encouraging curiosity and authenticity over faking expertise. Her principle—leaning into discomfort with determination—offers a roadmap for navigating leadership doubts.
Platform Happiness with Leena Mooneeram
Leena Mooneeram, a platform engineer at Chainalysis, presents a developer’s guide to platform happiness, emphasizing mutual engagement between engineers and platform teams. Viewing platforms as products, Leena suggests three actions: be an early adopter to shape tools and build relationships, contribute by fixing documentation or small bugs, and question considerately with context and urgency details. These steps enhance platform robustness and reduce friction. For instance, early adopters provide critical feedback, while contributions like PRs for typos streamline workflows. Leena’s mutual engagement model fosters collaboration, ensuring platforms empower engineers to build software joyfully and efficiently.