Inadequately structured infrastructure can expose applications and networks to the risk of cyberattacks and data breaches, placing companies in a precarious position. The stakes are high, as evidenced by the average cost of a data breach soaring to a record $4.35 million in 2023.

Customization in platform engineering plays a crucial role in aligning technology with organizational identity, according to Balaji Sivasubramanian (pictured, left), senior director of product management and developer tools at Red Hat Inc., who joins our analysts at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe for live coverage of the premier open-source conference. The conversation touched on the Day 0 events, including BackstageCon, where implementers and experts, including H&M and Ball.com, demonstrated their customizations.

“That’s why Backstage is successful. It is the ability to customize for your company. If you’re able to customize the platform for you, that’s why developers can associate with it,” Sivasubramanian said. “And it’s not only the colors and themes. It also what tools they can use the templates, which are essentially the best practices for that organization can also be there.”

Sivasubramanian and Natale Vinto (right), developer advocate lead at Red Hat, spoke with theCUBE’s Savannah Peterson and Rob Strechay at KubeCon during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the importance of customization and personalization in platform engineering, the significant role of community involvement and collaboration in tech development, and the integration and potential impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. (* Disclosure below.)

Customization in platform engineering

As companies increasingly prioritize securing their software supply chains, the role of platform engineering in enforcing security measures becomes vital, according to Vinto. There is great importance placed on reducing the cognitive load for developers while ensuring security compliance.

“We have these studies defining an idea of developer experience. One pillar is reducing the cognitive load. The second pillar is getting developers in the flow state, and the third pillar is the feedback loop,” Vinto said. “This is one of the most important parts in how we’re connecting those. How to make this work is through the platform that enabled this feedback loop early.”

The integration of security measures into software templates illustrates a proactive approach to embedding security into the development process, Sivasubramanian explained. The discussion reflected a forward-thinking perspective, contemplating how AI could further streamline and enhance the developer experience.

The integration of AI into platform engineering could transform the way developers interact with technology, making it more intuitive and efficient. As these technologies continue to evolve, their impact on developer efficiency and organizational productivity will pave the way for more innovative and secure software solutions, according to Sivasubramanian.

“Think about the life of a developer. And this feature flag is just one example of a tool, but there are lots of tools you could use, and you can bring all of those into one single dashboard,” he said. “So the developer can actually do everything. And that’s a beautiful thing to do.”

With emerging AI technologies on the horizon, we are on the cusp of experiencing platform engineering that is not only more intuitive but also profoundly capable of understanding and adapting to user needs in ways we have yet to fully comprehend, Sivasubramanian explained.

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe:

(* Disclosure: Red Hat Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Red Hat nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE