The Infra Pod What is Platform Engineering? Chat with Ian Nowland
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Feb 24, 2025 Ian Nowland, a platform engineering expert and co-founder of Junction Labs, shares insights from his remarkable journey through Amazon and Datadog. He delves into the evolution of platform engineering and its differences from traditional IT roles. Ian discusses the challenges of multi-cluster Kubernetes networking and the need for simplified service discovery. He also critiques the future of Kubernetes, suggesting higher-level abstractions, and emphasizes the importance of dynamic configuration in enhancing application functionality. Tune in for expert strategies and innovation!
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Ian's Journey
- Ian Nowland's background includes working at Amazon in 2006, where platform teams were already common.
- He later worked at AWS, a FinTech, and Datadog, managing platform teams.
Defining Platform Engineering
- Platform engineering is not just cobbling together open-source and vendor tools.
- True platform engineering involves in-house software development customized to a company’s specific needs.
Integrating Two Personality Types
- Two distinct personality types exist in tech: detail-oriented systems people and big-picture software developers.
- Effective platform engineering requires integrating both types into the same team.
