Ask 10 engineers this question and you’ll get 10 different answers. You might hear something like "creating and maintaining tool chains and workflows that empower software teams.” Or you maybe something like "The design, construction, and operation of a platform.” Wait, platform? What’s a platform? Deep breath for this one… "A collection of capabilities, documentation, and tools to support developing, deploying, operating, and/or managing the delivery of products and services.” With all of this word salad, it’s easy to understand why platform engineering is still an enigma to many people.
So what does platform engineering mean to Krumware? These are the principles that guide our practice:
A platform should be treated like any other software product, and the users/consumers of the platform should be treated as the platform team’s customers.
The user experience of the platform should always be considered and prioritized, and a major part of that user experience is the ability to self-serve.
A platform should be composable (being capable of being combined or assembled from separate, smaller parts), and should allow users the option to use only a subset of components.
No vendor lock and no walled gardens. All components of a platform should be swappable, replaceable, and loosely coupled.
We do not believe in "one platform to rule them all". The effectiveness of a platform should not be measured by replacing other platforms, it should be measured by facilitating and elevating the customers of the platform.
Increased Productivity
Providing the consumers of your platform with a great user experience leads to both improved satisfaction and increased productivity.
Organizational Efficiency
Enabling self-service and reducing manual steps and human intervention increases efficiency across your entire organization.
Business Value
Accelerating the delivery of products and features helps to maximize business value for all stakeholders
We get in the trenches with you to provide hands-on implementation, skills enablement, and strategy. Krumware implements standardized solution stacks and develops new technologies to give your teams the tools they need to sustain innovation and efficiency
Build
a New Platform
Know that you need a Platform, but want help with the design and implementation? We're here to guide you and work side by side from Day 0 of your platform journey.
Optimize
an Existing Platform
Already have a platform and looking to improve it or increase adoption? After helping dozens of companies over the last 10 years, we can show you exactly what works and what doesn't
Contributing to Open Source and Industry Standards
Our Founder and CEO Colin Griffin serves a Co-Chair of the Cloud Native Platform Engineering Community and contributed to the development of the CNCF's Platforms Whitepaper and Platform Engineering Maturity Model.
Provisional
Operational
Scalable
Optimizing
Investment
How are staff and funds allocated to platform capabilities?
Voluntary or Temporary
Provisional
Dedicated Team
Operational
As Product
Scalable
Enabled Ecosystem
Optimizing
Adoption
Why and how do users discover and use platform capabilities?
Erratic
Provisional
Extrinsic Push
Operational
Intrinsic Pull
Scalable
Participatory
Optimizing
Interfaces
How do users interact with and use platform capabilities?
Custom Processes
Provisional
Standard Tooling
Operational
Self-Service Solutions
Scalable
Integrated Services
Optimizing
Operations
How are platforms planned, prioritized, developed, and maintained?
By Request
Provisional
Centrally Tracked
Operational
Centrally Enabled
Scalable
Managed Services
Optimizing
Measurement
What is the process for gathering and incorporating feedback and learning?
Ad Hoc
Provisional
Consistent Collection
Operational
Insights
Scalable
Quantitative & Qualitative
Optimizing
Reach out to us to discuss your organizational goals and learn more about implementing platform engineering for your team. Work With Us