From DevOps to Platform Engineering: What’s the Real Difference?
In recent years, we’ve been hearing more and more about Platform Engineering, and this trend is gaining momentum. But wait — what’s really the difference between DevOps and Platform Engineering? Is it just a new terminology or a fundamental shift in approach?
DevOps: Bridging Development and Operations
DevOps was born out of the need to connect development and operations teams. The core idea is collaboration, automation, and shared responsibility for the software lifecycle.
Key Principles of DevOps:
- CI/CD: Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment
- Automation: Reducing manual processes
- Monitoring and Control: Tracking system health
- Collaboration: Open communication between development and operations teams
But DevOps also has its challenges: DevOps teams often become bottlenecks, and the focus on processes rather than developers can hurt the development experience.
Platform Engineering: Empowering Developers
Platform Engineering takes DevOps principles a step further, adding a platform layer designed to empower developers and enable them to work more independently.
Key Principles of Platform Engineering:
- Self-Service: Tools that allow developers to create environments, deploy code, and manage infrastructure independently
- Infrastructure as Code: Using modules and templates for standardization and simplicity
- Product Mindset: Treating the platform as a product with user experience and support
- Layered Architecture: Dividing infrastructure into Network, Storage, and App layers for easier management
So What’s the Difference?
Conclusion
Platform Engineering isn’t a replacement for DevOps — it’s its evolution. It takes DevOps values and principles, adds a product layer focused on developers, and enables the organization to move faster and more independently.
So if you’re thinking about how to advance your development culture, it might be time to build a strong platform that serves everyone.
Read more at: Senora.dev 🚀
