The DNA of efficient software organizations is no different than that of ancient builders: they continually discover how to combine simple tools into compound machines in order to gain a mechanical advantage.
Anyone who has been in the DevOps or Platform Engineering space for some time has witnessed it: the time-honored question "what makes Amazon|Google|Netflix so effective at delivering software?" And, almost invariably, as if it were unquestionably obvious, someone will opine that it all boils down to "economies of scale."
But, does it? Does it really?
Yes, these organizations clearly have a price advantage over smaller players, but this only means that they can buy goods, like infrastructure, at a fraction of the cost of their competition...as if this is somehow a measure of productivity and efficiency. Having more resources does not make you more effective at software delivery.
And, just because we always look to these large, well-known organizations as, what many might consider, the gold standard for shipping code, that does not mean that there are other lesser-known organizations that aren't killing it too.
So if not "economies of scale," then what?
We believe that a primary characteristic of effective software organizations comes down to their ability to synthesize tools and patterns that provide an outsized mechanical advantage.
Throughout the course of human history incredible, almost unbelievable, feats have been achieved when tools are used to our advantage. The Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza, the Roman Colosseum. It's hard to understand how these could be built today, let alone thousands of years ago. Extremely simplistic pulleys, levers, wedges designed and utilized by these ancient people played a huge role in making this happen.
The Greek mathematician, scientist, and inventor Archimedes was able to quantify how to make these tools, like levers, even more impactful. He is credited with discovering that when these simple tools are combined into compound mechanisms the resulting force is multiplied.
Whether or not Archimedes was actually the first to discover this, who knows? Despite this, one thing is clear: human civilization has increasingly become more efficient by combining simple instruments into greater and greater tools of progress. And, that over time, these tools have become commoditized for everyday use.
Bikes. Trains. Cars. Planes.
The DNA of efficient software organizations is no different than that of ancient builders: they continually discover how to combine simple tools into compound machines in order to gain a mechanical advantage. They reduce day-to-day developer toil by pattern matching and investing in the combinations that work. If you want your software teams to be more efficient you need to bring this same culture into your own organizations.
Everyone has a different definition of what Platform Engineering means to them. But, for us, it is about identifying the (now-digital) gears, pulleys, and levers that may be combined into larger mechanisms of mechanical advantage. Platform Engineering is still very early in its maturity cycle, but we are confident that, like ancient builders, software developers will continue to force multiply their efforts by organizing simple tools into highly-efficient, commoditized systems.
