Platform engineering was meant to ease the burdens of Devs and Ops by reducing cognitive load and repetitive tasks. However, building internal development platforms (IDPs) has proven challenging. Despite this, Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of software engineering organizations will have a platform team.

In a recent New Stack Makers episode, Mallory Haigh of Humanitec and Nathen Harvey of Google discussed the current state and future of platform engineering. Haigh emphasized that many organizations rush to build IDPs without understanding why they need them, leading to ineffective implementations. She noted that platform engineering is 10% technical and 90% cultural change, requiring deep introspection and strategic planning.

AI-driven automation, particularly agentic AI, is expected to shape platform engineering’s future. Haigh highlighted how AI can enhance platform orchestration and optimize GPU resource management. Harvey compared platform engineering to generative AI—both aim to reduce toil and improve efficiency. As AI adoption grows, platform teams must ensure their infrastructure supports these advancements.

Learn more from The New Stack about platform engineering:  

Platform Engineering on the Brink: Breakthrough or Bust?

Platform Engineers Must Have Strong Opinions

The Missing Piece in Platform Engineering: Recognizing Producers

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