The Power of Platform Engineering: Highlights From an Exciting Meetup

Platform Engineering is a discipline that focuses on designing, building, and maintaining the underlying infrastructure and software platforms that support the development and operation of applications and services within an organization. It involves creating a solid foundation and set of tools, frameworks, and services that enable developers to efficiently build, deploy, and scale applications. It is at the forefront of modern software development.

Platform Engineering aims to provide a cohesive and standardized platform that developers can leverage to streamline their development processes, increase productivity, and ensure the stability and reliability of the applications they build. This often includes implementing best practices, automation, and self-service capabilities to enable developers to focus more on writing code and less on managing infrastructure.

Recently, TeraSky had the privilege of sponsoring an exciting meetup focused on platform engineering. Industry experts shared their insights in two fascinating presentations, and attendees had the opportunity to both learn and network together.

The first presentation, led by TeraSky’s Practice Leader, Cloud Technologies and Automation, Scott Rosenberg, delved into the world of container images and introduced us to the game-changing technology of buildpacks. Scott explained how buildpacks offer a declarative approach to define and package application dependencies, simplifying the image-building process. From the buildpack lifecycle to detection and build processes, Scott provided an in-depth exploration of this revolutionary technology. Real-world examples of buildpack-based platforms, including Kpack, Waypoint, Google Cloud Run, and Pack CLI, showcased how buildpacks streamline the development and deployment of cloud-native applications, enabling developers to focus on building great software.

Next, Eran Bibi, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, of FireFly, insightful session shed light on the concept of GitOps, which has become a popular way to control and manage cloud assets through unified policies, and how to extend its practice to include SaaS tools. Eran emphasized that SaaS tools behave similarly to operational clouds and can greatly benefit from centralized policies to tackle security and state drift. He walked the group through the concept of syncing SaaS tooling configurations by managing them through Infrastructure as Code (IaC). Real code examples demonstrated how to deliver GitOps value to your entire SaaS toolchain, including monitoring tools, APMs, CDNs, security and IAM tools, SCM, and more. This approach ensures consistency, enhances security, and promotes efficiency across the board.

The meetup on Platform Engineering was an inspiring and knowledge-packed event, showcasing the power of cloud-native technologies and effective management strategies. The discussions around cloud-native buildpacks and the codification of SaaS apps highlighted how Platform Engineering empowers organizations to build, deploy, and manage applications more efficiently. By embracing these principles, businesses can streamline their development processes, enhance security, and achieve greater scalability.

Join the PE MeetUp! Stay in the know on future Platform Engineering events!