Platform engineering for developers, architects & the rest of us (AI agents)

AI is accelerating software creation faster than organizations can safely operationalize it, increasing the demand for effective platform engineering. In this talk, Daniel Bryant explores why platform architecture is now as important as software architecture, introducing a practical three-layer model spanning applications, platform capabilities, and infrastructure. Attendees will learn how to design platforms as products, measure their impact, and create self-service capabilities that maximize the flow of value for both developers and AI-powered systems.

Key takeaways
- Every-day engineering trade-offs can directly shape real-world outcomes, not just technical ones.
- Supply chain weaknesses turn small decisions into large, downstream failures you still own.
- “Risk” is a comforting abstraction that hides who actually gets hurt when systems fail.
- You can delegate code and tools, but not responsibility for consequences.
- Many software teams are now operating safety-critical systems—whether they realise it or not.

Transcript

1. Platform Engineering for Developers, Architects, And the Rest of Us (AI Agents! 🤖) Daniel Bryant Developer, Platform Engineer, and Product Marketer
2. tl;dr • AI increases the demand for platforms • Platform architecture is as important as software architecture • Think three layers: app, platform (capabilities), infra • Measure platform impact: time to provision, upgrade, and offer • Build platforms to maximise flow of value
3. linktr.ee/danielbryantuk @danielbryantuk
4. Previously, at…
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUpYEhaUJnM From Kubernetes to PaaS to… err, what’s next?
6. Code Ship Run 🤖🤖🤖 Giving AI direct access to tooling accelerates (existing) issues
7. AI increases the demand for platforms because it accelerates software creation faster than organizations can safely operationalize it. h/t Andy Burgin
8. The “what” of platforms 🏗
9. Platforms, platforms, platforms…
10. “Platform engineering improves developer experience and productivity by providing self-service capabilities with automated infrastructure operations . It is trending because of its promise to optimise the developer experience and accelerate product teams’ delivery of customer value.” https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/what-is-platform-engineering Gartner: What is platform engineering?
11. What is a platform, anyway? “A digital platform is a foundation of self-service APIs, tools, services, knowledge and support which are arranged as a compelling internal product. Autonomous delivery teams can make use of the platform to deliver product features at a higher pace, with reduced coordination.” Evan Bottcher martinfowler.com/articles/talk-about-platforms.html
12. What is a platform, anyway? “A digital platform is a foundation of self-service APIs, tools, services, knowledge and support which are arranged as a compelling internal product . Autonomous delivery teams can make use of the platform to deliver product features at a higher pace, with reduced coordination.” Evan Bottcher martinfowler.com/articles/talk-about-platforms.html
13. What is a platform, anyway? “A digital platform is a foundation of self-service APIs, tools, services, knowledge and support which are arranged as a compelling internal product . Autonomous delivery teams can make use of the platform to deliver product features at a higher pace, with reduced coordination .” Evan Bottcher martinfowler.com/articles/talk-about-platforms.html (🤖🤝🤖)
14. The “why” of platforms 🏗
15. • Go faster: Platform teams need to provide “everything as a service” to help rapidly and sustainably deliver value to end-users • Decrease risk: Teams need to automate manual processes in reusable components • Increase efficiency: You need to manage and scale your digital platform and resources as a fleet What are the goals of your platform?
16. The platinum (platform) metrics Time to get (provision) an instance of a platform capability Time to (controlled) upgrade all instances of a platform capability Time to design, create and offer a new platform capability
17. Platform architecture 🏢
18. syntasso.io/post/platform-engineering-orchestrating-applications-platforms-and-infrastructure
19. syntasso.io/post/platform-engineering-orchestrating-applications-platforms-and-infrastructure 🤖🤝🤖 🤖🤝󰠁󰞵 󰠁󰞵
20. This three tier thing could catch on…
21. This three tier thing could catch on…
22. syntasso.io/post/platform-engineering-orchestrating-applications-platforms-and-infrastructure Each team must own their flow of value Here is the “platform as a product” Embracing AI without PaaP accelerates issues
23. AI increases the demand for platforms because it accelerates software creation faster than organizations can safely operationalize it.
24. Operationalization 🤖🤖🤝󰠁󰞵
25. Team Topologies teamtopologies.com/key-concepts
27. Wrapping up 🎉
28. Conclusion • AI increases the demand for platforms • Platform architecture is as important as software architecture • Think three layers: app, platform (capabilities), infra • Measure platform impact: time to provision, upgrade, and offering • Build platforms to maximise flow of value
29. @danielbryantuk | daniel@syntasso.io docs.kratix.io/main/quick-start speakerdeck.com/syntasso Thank you! Kratix docs