What is an Internal Developer Platform?

In software development, efficiency and productivity are one of the most important components. The ever-increasing complexity of modern applications along with the need for seamless collaboration often pose significant challenges.

That's where the Internal Developer Platform (IDP) comes in.

Simply put, it's a solution designed to address common hurdles faced by software development teams.

IDPs help developers by providing an ecosystem with automated tools, streamlined workflows, and collaborative features.

So let's explore the IDPs, uncover their unique problem-solving capabilities, and discover how they can help improve the overall software development experience.

What is an Internal Developer Platform (IDP)?

Internal Developer Platform or IDP is a supportive platform where the developers can experiment, collaborate, and easily build applications. It eliminates the need to work on time-consuming tasks such as infrastructure provisioning, deployment pipelines, and managing dependencies. IDP automates these processes, allowing developers to focus on their core expertise and craft exceptional software solutions.

IDP is not a new concept, especially for companies with mature software development teams. Projects like Backstage by Spotify prove this.

IDP is an ecosystem designed to improve the software development process. It is like a central hub that offers developers multiple tools, services, and resources.

This helps the team streamline their workflows hence boosting their productivity.

An IDP empowers developers to work efficiently with its user-friendly interface, seamless integration with various development tools, and collaborative features.

What is an External Developer Platform?

EDP, or External Developer Platform, is just like a virtual meeting place for developers to connect with developers from different companies and communities.

It connects external developers and gives them access to tools and resources to work effectively.

It's like a big marketplace of ideas where developers can work together and share APIs, libraries, and frameworks. With EDP, developers can collaborate globally and work on their projects effectively.

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IDP & Small Dev Teams - Challenges

When talking about small dev teams and Internal Developer Platforms (IDP), two important phrases to keep in mind are Lack of Resources and Lack of Expertise.

Challenges

• Lack of Expertise: Building IDPs requires deep expertise in the fields of infrastructure automation/management, security, tooling, etc.
• Lack of resources: Similarly, building and (successfully) implementing Internal Developer Platforms take a lot of resources - time, money, and maintenance.

Small dev teams usually don't have enough resources or expertise at hand to build, maintain, and implement Internal Developer Platforms for their organizations.

Enough about the challenges of self-made IDP in small dev teams; what's the solution?

IDP for Small Dev Teams - Solution

Historically, there are two options available when it comes to IDP for small dev teams.

Open-source solutions

Use open-source solutions (tools or platforms) to simplify the setup and maintenance of certain IDP components.

This solution, however, comes with challenges of its own -

• the trouble of maintaining the open-source project, and
• integrating multiple open-source tools for different IDP components in a way that suits your organization's specific needs.

Challenges of IDPs in Enterprise Dev Teams

Unlike small dev teams, enterprise dev teams neither lack expertise nor resources to build, implement, & maintain Internal Developer Portals.

While this statement may (partly) be true, Enterprise Dev Teams face a different set of challenges with Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs).

Let's look at a few of them.

Multiple Teams (Organization Silos)

Enterprise companies have a huge number of (siloed) dev teams. As such, building Internal Developer Platforms that suit the needs of all these teams will require heavy inter and intra-team collaboration.

Complex Infrastructure (Legacy Systems)

Enterprises have complex infrastructure - a mix of legacy systems with a few modern setups.

Building a unified IDP that integrates with legacy systems and different IDP components can be a challenging problem to solve.

Compliance

There are a lot of compliance/security requirements in enterprise dev teams as they often operate in heavily regulated industries. As such, IDP needs to measures in place to have proper access control, data privacy, etc.

If an IDP is built in spite of all the above challenges, the next set of struggles comes - ensuring adaptation & implementation across different dev teams while properly maintaining & documenting the Internal Developer Platform.

Internal Developer Portal vs Internal Developer Platform (IDP)

Internal Developer Portal and Internal Developer Platform (IDP) may sound very similar but they are significantly different.

Internal Developer Portal

An Internal Developer Portal is a centralized web-based platform that acts as a gateway or hub for developers.

Developers access documentation, resources, and tools related to the organization's internal software development processes here.

It is considered a knowledge hub that provides developers with information on various things such as coding standards, best practices, API, and more.

Internal Developer Portal aims to offer developers easy access to essential information. This helps enable efficient and seamless collaboration within an organization.

Internal Developer Platform

An Internal Developer Platform (IDP) is a comprehensive ecosystem to streamline the entire software development process. It offers a range of tools, services, and automation capabilities.

The focus of IDP is based on simplifying and enhancing the development workflow. It is achieved by automating tasks like infrastructure provisioning, code deployment, and testing.

IDP aims to boost developer productivity, collaboration, and innovation by providing a dedicated environment where developers can build and deploy applications efficiently.

Why Use an Internal Developer Platform?

IDP is a valuable tool for developers as it helps simplify and speed up the software development process.

It takes care of repetitive and time-consuming tasks, like setting up infrastructure or managing deployment pipelines, by automating them.

One of the USPs of IDP is its ability to foster collaboration among developers. It provides a central hub where developers can share code, work on projects, and access shared resources.

This makes teamwork easier and improves overall productivity.

Additionally, an IDP streamlines the development workflow by offering various tools and services. It handles complex technical aspects, allowing you to concentrate on coding and application development.

In summary, an IDP simplifies your work as a developer, saves time by automating tasks, encourages collaboration, and enhances productivity. It's a practical solution that supports you throughout the software development process.

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DevOps & Internal Developer Platforms

Regarding an efficient and streamlined software development process, DevOps and IDPs go hand in hand. In simpler words, both of these concepts complement each other.

DevOps is a set of practices bridging the gap between software development and IT operations.

It focuses on collaboration, automation, and continuous delivery while ensuring uptime, security, and a million other things. DevOps also promotes cross-functional teams, where developers and operations teams can work closely.

An IDP aligns perfectly with DevOps principles by providing a dedicated platform that supports collaboration and automation.

It offers a centralized environment where developers can access the necessary tools, resources, and infrastructure to develop and deploy applications.

Building, testing, and delivering software becomes more streamlined and efficient with an IDP.

Further Reading