Modernization has become table stakes for organizations, but transitioning to the cloud requires a brand new technology stack. More and more, IT leaders are turning to cloud and Kubernetes technologies to help developers and operations teams deploy, manage and scale applications more easily. However, the growing complexity of modern application development poses significant challenges for developers and operations or SRE (site reliability engineering) teams — from keeping pace with rapid technological advancements and integrations to handling the multitude of tools and supporting services essential for building, deploying and managing modern applications. This is further complicated by infrastructure dependencies and manual processes, placing additional strain on the teams. In fact, one in four organizations take three months or longer just to deploy an application.

Enter platform engineering teams, formed to play a pivotal role in centralizing efforts and managing the complexities of modern application development. According to Forrester, more than three-quarters of high-performing organizations are adopting platform teams. Organizations today rely on platform teams to eliminate the complexities of the modern software landscape, thus speeding digital transformation, fostering a culture of innovation and efficiency, and ultimately leading to better, faster, stronger enterprises.

Quarterbacks of innovation

Many organizations now recognize platform teams as the quarterbacks of innovation, suited best to abstract complexity, identify the best path to efficiency, and create a much needed springboard towards cloud and Kubernetes adoption. Platform teams are uniquely equipped to optimize resource allocation because they sit in between developers and the cloud infrastructure and compute that developers need, and are able to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of software development processes.