CNCF CTO: From golden paths to guardrails, platform engineering's role in developer velocity
This is a guest post for Computer Weekly Open Source Insider written by Chris Aniszczyk, CTO of CNCF.
As readers will know, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) is an open source software foundation that promotes the adoption of cloud-native computing
A subsidiary of the Linux Foundation, the CNCF welcomes a vendor-agnostic community of developers, end users and technology and service providers, who collaborate on open source projects.
As defined on TechTarget, “The CNCF defines cloud-native computing as the use of open source software as well as technologies such as containers, microservices and service mesh to develop and deploy scalable applications on cloud computing platforms.”
Aniszczyk writes in full as follows…
At CNCF, we spend a lot of time looking at patterns across our 200+ open source projects and the broader cloud native ecosystem. One pattern that’s gained momentum fast is the rise of platform engineering. It’s no longer a practice that companies like Spotify were experimenting with; it’s becoming a core strategic function in modern enterprises.
Platform engineering isn’t entirely new and really an evolution and maturity of the DevOps movement.
A shift: tooling to experience
Remember the early DevOps days?
It was all about culture shifts and tools. Crank out some IaC scripts, automate CI/CD and throw in some Kubernetes. That got us part of the way. However, developers found themselves immersed in YAML, interpreting cloud provider documentation and quickly determining security issues.
Platform engineering shifts this focus.
It’s not about more tools; it’s about better developer experience and streamlining deployment. That means deploying an Internal Developer Platform (IDP), building a curated workflow with smart defaults so developers can spend less time on plumbing and more time delivering value.
Aniszczy: The best platform teams treat abstraction as a service, not a mandate.
IDPs like Backstage help standardise repeatable tasks like spinning up a test environment or deploying a microservice into self-service experiences. It’s like offering a paved road instead of asking everyone to bushwhack their own trail.
The product mindset
Here’s something we’ve learned in the open source world: great platforms treat developers as customers. That means listening, iterating and showing empathy.
Open source projects like Backstage, which started at Spotify and is now a CNCF incubating project, are built around this ethos. It gives teams a way to unify tools and documentation into a coherent portal.
Open standards and modularity are also key. Engineers don’t want a monolith; they want building blocks. Tools like Crossplane and Dapr make it easier to construct platforms that fit your architecture, not someone else’s template.
Challenges ahead
The challenge here is to go too far and over-prescribe.
The best platform teams treat abstraction as a service, not a mandate. Success requires alignment. That means working across engineering functions and security. It means tracking outcomes like developer satisfaction, time to onboard and recovery speed, not just uptime.
Looking ahead, we expect platform engineering to evolve from a niche practice to a mainstream discipline.
Open source will continue to lead the way in experimentation and innovation.
As AI creeps deeper into the stack, platform teams will be essential in ensuring responsible, observable deployments. That’s the real promise of platform engineering. Not perfection, but progress you can build on to deliver business value.
