Quick Answer: When to Avoid Platform Engineering

Our quick answers series is here to deliver easy, speedy answers to some of the most common cloud tech queries. Today, we’ll be covering scenarios that aren't suitable for platform engineering.

Platform Engineering is an approach that provides several benefits for software development and delivery. However, there are certain cases where the implementation of Platform Engineering is not an ideal approach.

The following four scenarios are the most common cases where Platform engineering is not suitable for teams or organizations. Let's take a look!

1. Small Scale Projects With Minimal Development Requirements

The overhead of developing and maintaining a shared platform can outweigh the benefits in small-scale projects where development requirements are limited. These projects consist of simple software systems and can be managed efficiently by deploying lightweight development approaches to meet the project needs.

2. Commercial Software Dependent Organizations

Organizations that are highly dependent on commercial software products may find limitations in investing resources into Platform Engineering. If the basic purpose of the organization is to integrate and configure existing software solutions as compared to building custom applications, the development and maintenance of a platform may not be justified. In such cases, cloud-based services may be an ideal and cost-effective approach.

3. Limited Resources

Organizations with tight budgets or limited resources may face challenges in adopting Platform Engineering. Designing, developing, and maintaining a robust platform can be resource-demanding and require dedicated personnel. If an organization has limited resources or is not able to allocate them effectively, then adopting platform engineering is not feasible.

4. A Mature Existing System

Organizations that already have well-established and mature system may disrupt their existing system. If the current system is working effectively and meeting all needs of the organization, it might be the best solution to improve the existing rather than implanting Platform Engineering.

Summary

In conclusion, Platform Engineering is not an ideal solution for organizations that heavily rely on commercial software and resource-constrained environments. So, the evaluation of specific constraints and resources is important to analyze whether Platform Engineering is the right approach for a particular situation.

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