In the rapidly evolving landscape of cloud-native technologies, platform engineering has emerged as a cornerstone for building scalable, maintainable, and developer-friendly systems. As the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) continues to grow, events like the Platform Day have become pivotal in fostering community-driven innovation. This article explores the challenges of selling technical platforms, the role of community in platform engineering, and strategies to bridge the gap between technical and business language.
Platform engineering is the practice of designing, building, and maintaining infrastructure that enables developers to focus on application logic rather than underlying systems. The CNCF’s Platform Day, now a two-track event held in Salt Lake City, exemplifies the community’s commitment to advancing this discipline. Through initiatives like Platform Engineering Coffee Hours, CubeCon, and the Platform Day itself, the CNCF community has created a vibrant ecosystem where engineers collaborate to refine best practices and share insights.
The two-track structure of Platform Day reflects the dual focus on technical depth and community engagement. One track emphasizes hands-on workshops and technical deep dives, while the other highlights community contributions, open discussions, and real-world case studies. This format ensures that platform engineering remains both a technical and social endeavor, driven by collective expertise.
While building platforms is inherently complex, selling them presents an equally daunting challenge. Engineers often struggle to translate technical value into business metrics that resonate with stakeholders. This disconnect arises from a fundamental mismatch in language: technical teams prioritize system reliability and scalability, while business leaders focus on cost efficiency and time-to-market.
Historically, this gap has led to misaligned priorities. Engineers may emphasize features like "zero-downtime deployments" or "automated testing pipelines," while executives seek assurances on ROI and risk mitigation. Bridging this divide requires a nuanced understanding of both domains. For instance, a platform’s ability to reduce operational overhead must be framed in terms of cost savings, not just technical elegance.
Effective platform marketing demands a balance between technical precision and business clarity. Several strategies have emerged, each with its own strengths and limitations:
Documentation-Centric Approach: Some platforms prioritize comprehensive documentation, positioning it as a self-service resource. While this can empower developers, it risks alienating non-technical stakeholders who may lack the patience to navigate dense technical guides.
Slogans and Taglines: Catchy phrases like "Deploy in a few clicks" or "Deploy anything anywhere" aim to simplify complex capabilities. However, these slogans often lack specificity, leading to skepticism from developers who prefer concrete tools over abstract promises.
Abstract Descriptions: Metaphors and poetic language, such as "batteries included," can evoke a sense of completeness. Yet, they may obscure the platform’s actual capabilities, leaving users uncertain about its practical value.
Overused Marketing Jargon: Terms like "app modernization" or "accelerate" have become so ubiquitous that they lose their meaning. Overreliance on such buzzwords can dilute the platform’s unique value proposition.
To navigate these challenges, engineers must adopt a buyer/seller persona framework. This approach involves understanding the motivations, pain points, and priorities of both internal stakeholders and external customers. For example, when advocating for a platform internally, it’s crucial to address the "build vs. buy" debate by quantifying the platform’s impact on productivity, risk reduction, and long-term maintenance costs.
Even within organizations, selling a platform requires strategic communication. Engineers should avoid jargon and instead use metrics that align with business goals. A platform’s ability to reduce deployment times or minimize infrastructure costs should be framed as a strategic advantage, not just a technical feature.
Cross-cultural communication adds another layer of complexity. Phrases like "cattle vs. pets"—a metaphor for infrastructure management—can carry different connotations in different regions. In some cultures, "cattle" may evoke negative associations, while in others, it may be neutral or even positive. Such nuances highlight the importance of tailoring messaging to the audience’s context.
Technical descriptions should also avoid region-specific idioms. For instance, the term "back pipes" may be unclear to non-native speakers. Instead, precise technical terminology should be used to convey core value without ambiguity.
Selling a technical platform is as much an art as it is a science. It requires empathy for the audience, a deep understanding of both technical and business priorities, and the ability to communicate value in a way that resonates across disciplines. By aligning platform engineering with community-driven innovation and adopting strategies that bridge the technical-business divide, engineers can transform platforms from mere tools into strategic assets. The CNCF’s Platform Day and its two-track model serve as a testament to the power of collaboration in overcoming these challenges and driving meaningful progress in the cloud-native ecosystem.