Page 164 - Cyber Defense eMagazine June 2024

complex, dependent on countless microservices, each of which DevOps teams must keep in mind as
they attempt to iterate new products and generate value for their company.

In recent years, these challenges have led to a wide-scale rethinking of software engineering best
practices—a process further accelerated by advancements in machine learning and AI.

The rise of platform engineering is one result of this reevaluation. Effectively, platform engineering
standardizes the underlying infrastructure—the cloud platforms, databases and security measures
developers need to iterate new digital solutions speedily. Internal developer platforms (IDP) are at the
center of this process: scalable, reusable self-service platforms that software developers can use to
streamline the development cycle. These IDPs abstract formerly intractable infrastructural complexities,
allowing developers to get down to work quickly.

These IDPs are spreading rapidly: according to a recent Port report, 85% of those surveyed indicated
they have either already begun implementing IDPs or will do so by 2025. This development dovetails
neatly with the rise of ClickOps, rapidly replacing the old code-first approach. In tandem, these
automation-heavy tools are helping businesses get more done while reducing levels of employee
burnout.

The Rise of 'Click-First' Tools

Typically, a contractor hired to build a house doesn't make the wood themselves; they work with
prefabricated materials. The same logic applies to ClickOps. Instead of reinventing the wheel every time,
emergent low-code/no-code tools allow software developers to focus more energy on things that add
value. They also reduce the barrier of entry for people who have engineering backgrounds. It's no
surprise, then, that—according to Fortune Business Insights— between 2021 and 2028, the global low-
code development platform market will grow from 14 billion dollars to 95 million dollars.

The benefits here are twofold. First, the automation permitted by ClickOps dramatically shortens
development windows: their user-friendly interfaces can reduce development time by up to 90%. Second,
simplifying some coding processes allows employees unfamiliar with coding-centric approaches to
contribute meaningfully to development processes.

The Role of Generative AI

The rise of platform engineering and ClickOps has been accompanied—and helped along by—rapid
advancements in Generative AI (GenAI). Because GenAI can automate tasks, optimize workflows and
use pattern detection to suggest potential improvements, it can rapidly speed up development—and
turbocharge innovation. A recent McKinsey study shows that software developers can complete
important coding tasks (like code documentation, code generation and code refactoring) up to twice as
fast by deploying GenAI tools.

These tools aren't merely "useful." Given the unprecedented vast stores of data now generated by even
small businesses daily, they're necessary. The most robust IT team cannot analyze this data efficiently

Cyber Defense eMagazine – June 2024 Edition 164
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