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World Congress 2026 Europe • Jul 9, 2026 • Session details

7 Ways to Fail at Building a Platform

Michael Coté

Building your own developer platform isn't a competitive edge—it's a maintenance nightmare. Discover seven fatal DIY pitfalls and why engineering leaders are ditching custom builds for off-the-shelf IDPs.

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#1 about 2 min

Managing containerized applications atop raw infrastructure

The rise of containers requires an operational layer to manage workloads effectively.

#2 about 2 min

Understanding the internal developer platform reference architecture

Developers need comprehensive platform services above the infrastructure layer to avoid struggling with isolated control environments.

#3 about 3 min

Managing new AI workloads for non-technical employees

Providing autonomous generation tools to knowledge workers demands robust platform governance and usage controls.

#4 about 4 min

The hidden dangers of building bespoke internal platforms

Designing a highly customized system often leads to a fragmented landscape of unmaintained technology silos.

#5 about 4 min

Mitigating scope creep and anticipating lifecycle requirements

Platform teams frequently underestimate the long-term operational and cultural scaling demands of their internal systems.

#6 about 3 min

Calculating the true financial cost of platform engineering

Comparing bare cloud resources without factoring in full-time staffing and operational overhead obscures the vast expense of custom platforms.

#7 about 3 min

Adopting a continuous product management mindset for platforms

Successful engineering teams treat their infrastructure as a dynamic product by continually updating features based on real developer usage.

#8 about 2 min

Evaluating vendor lock-in against infrastructure portability needs

Maximizing the freedom to move applications often outweighs the perceived benefits of being locked into an internally built custom platform.

#9 about 2 min

Overcoming staffing risks in specialized platform environments

Operating bespoke internal platforms increases operational risk when highly valued specialists eventually leave the organization.

#10 about 2 min

Avoiding the trap of resume-driven development architectures

Allowing engineers to chase trendy technologies for personal career growth can severely limit long-term organizational business success.

#11 about 4 min

Handling scale in platform security and compliance

Pushing custom platform implementations foists massive update patching and access control responsibilities onto unprepared internal teams.

#12 about 3 min

Choosing pre-built platforms to prioritize core application development

Opting for pre-built solutions frees developer and operations teams to focus entirely on building functional applications instead of maintaining raw infrastructure.

#13 about 2 min

Balancing technology layers by rejecting trendy infrastructure options

Focusing experimental technologies strictly in the application layer while keeping core infrastructure conservative maintains robust system stability.

Matching moments

1:43 min

Shifting focus from platform engineering to developer productivity

Robert Hoffmann Robert Hoffmann +1 · LIVE

1:43 min

Summarizing the organizational benefits of platform engineering

Christian Strack · LIVE

1:41 min

Designing internal developer platforms and product team responsibilities

Romano Roth Romano Roth · WWC 2025

4:50 min

Recognizing the downward spiral of platform engineering

Robert Hoffmann Robert Hoffmann +1 · LIVE

1:20 min

Pivoting product strategy toward platform engineering

Alejandro Albuerne Alejandro Albuerne · WWC Europe 2026

1:22 min

Treating developer platforms as internal products to drive adoption

Anna Ozor Anna Ozor · Europe 2026 Virtual

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