08. How Kubernetes Changed Platform Engineering

Introduction: Bits, Bytes, and Nuances

I understand most technical write ups are supposed to be lots of bits and bytes and devoid of any personal nuances, but this one is going to be different. The bits and bytes will certainly be present, but they will be mixed with personal experiences because by nature I am a Platform Software Engineer. It’s what I’ve done for almost 25 years. I am very passionate about it. Much of what I’ve read recently in blogs, social media posts, and books compelled me to write this whitepaper because Platform Engineering (PE) seems to be a new concept to many. It is not. Platform Engineering simply moved from Software Engineering to DevOps/IT. Therein lies the awakening of DevOps/IT folks to PE and the challenge it presents for them.

​

In his book Platform Engineering on Kubernetes, which I highly recommend, author Mauricio Salatino makes a similar statement regarding the platform engineering term. Mauricio says:

​

Platform engineering is not a new term in the tech industry. But it is quite new in the cloud-native space and the context of Kubernetes. We were not using the term in the cloud-native communities when I started writing this book back in 2020.”