The Past, Present, and Future of Platform Engineering

Explore the evolution and challenges of platform engineering in this conference talk that examines decades of attempts to build developer platforms and why most have failed. Discover what makes current platform engineering efforts different from past attempts and whether teams have a better chance of success today. Learn about the hard truths and pain points teams face when building Kubernetes-based platforms, including common pitfalls and industry-wide patterns of failure. Gain insights into current platform engineering practices and future directions for the field. Understand why platform engineering isn't just a buzzword but a continuation of long-standing efforts to enable development teams through better tooling and infrastructure. Navigate the complexities of the CNCF landscape and its role in modern platform engineering approaches. Prepare for realistic expectations about the challenges ahead when building platforms that truly serve other development teams.