Over the past few years, there’s been a shift in the way engineering teams work. Modern engineering teams have been building Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) to streamline the development, deployment, and management of software applications. But all of this requires a team to build custom, internal tools.
Now, there’s a new category of out-of-the-box Internal Developer Platforms emerging. These solutions help companies enjoy the benefits of IDPs without having to build one from scratch.
The right Internal Developer Platform can save startups years of effort. They can leapfrog tedious DevOps headaches by enabling developers to focus on coding to solve business problems rather than toil with infrastructure, right from the start.
This article explores today's landscape of the best internal developer platforms to help you learn what's available. Let’s get started!
What is an Internal Developer Platform?
An Internal Developer Platform (IDP) is a platform companies use to standardize development workflows aligned to DevSecOps best practices. Internal Developer Platforms help developers make informed service configuration choices, manage environments, deploy code, and monitor applications - all without having to learn DevOps or become infrastructure experts.
PaaS vs. Internal Developer Platform vs. Internal Developer Portal
Internal Developer Platforms go beyond the Platform as a Service (PaaS) model to allow organizations to host and deploy applications in their own cloud. An Internal Developer Portal is a subset of an Internal Developer Platform and gives developers centralized access to resources, documentation, and tools within an organization.
Benefits of an Internal Developer Platform
An Internal Developer Platform offers many benefits that significantly impact developer productivity and efficiency:
- Streamlined DevSecOps Processes: By automating repetitive tasks and standardizing workflows with DevSecOps processes in mind, organizations can ship faster without compromising on reliability and security.
- Improved Developer Experience (DevEx): Developers are pulled in many different directions. And they typically don’t enjoy getting pulled from their core work to work on DevOps or troubleshoot infrastructure. Keep them happy by just letting them ship code.
- Increased Productivity: Increase the percentage of time developers are focusing on the product rather than managing DevOps and infrastructure. With a centralized platform, developers can quickly set up environments, test and deploy applications, and monitor performance, leading to increased productivity.
- Cost Efficiency: Automating infrastructure management reduces the need for manual intervention, saving time and reducing costs associated with operational overhead.
11 Best Internal Developer Platforms to Streamline DevSecOps in 2024
1. Kapstan
Overview:
The complexity of public cloud software deployments has resulted in more effort required in DevSecOps, increasing COGS, and diminishing developer productivity.
Kapstan is an internal developer platform that seeks to address these 3 challenges by improving developer productivity (like most IDPs) but with the additional benefit of providing built-in security and cloud cost optimization tools.
Kapstan offers a comprehensive suite of tools for DevSecOps automation, integrates with your existing DevOps toolchain, and provides a user-friendly interface for developers.
Pros:
- Excellent support for Kubernetes deployment.
- Intuitive interface for managing microservices.
- Easy integration with popular CI/CD tools.
- Out of the box observability via logs, health metrics and APM.
- Customer portability (no vendor lock-in).
- Blends DevOps, shift left security, and cloud cost optimization best practices.
- White-glove onboarding (if you don’t want to think about DevOps).
- Strong automation capabilities.
- Built by industry veterans with DevSecOps experience at Sumo Logic, Salesforce, and Aruba Networks.
Considerations:
- No Azure support (Coming soon).
- Limited support for serverless architecture (Coming soon).
2. Humanitec
Overview:
Humanitec offers a solution for platform engineers to build an internal developer platform. They serve platform engineers with 3 core products: 1). Score to abstract developers’ requests, 2). Platform Orchestrator to standardize workflows, and 3). Internal Developer Portal to provide a single pane of glass for the organization.
Pros:
- Excellent self-service capabilities.
- Integrates well with popular DevOps tools.
- Supports all 3 major cloud providers: AWS, GCP, and Azure.
Considerations:
- Focused on large organizations that can afford platform engineers.
- The platform can be complex to use, especially for teams new to platform engineering.
3. Coherence
Overview:
Coherence is an internal developer platform built on top of the CNC framework. They focus on simplifying the developer experience by providing a unified interface for environment management and deployment, ease of use, and integration with existing tools.
Pros:
- User-friendly and intuitive interface.
- Customizable and extensible. The CNC framework allows for extensive customization with Terraform and build/deploy scripting.
- Provide preview environments
Considerations:
- No Azure support.
- Lack advanced features for complex workflows.
- Limited monitoring capabilities.
4. Appvia
Overview:
Appvia is a cloud infrastructure management platform that automates the deployment, management, and scaling of cloud-native applications. They help developers focus on building applications by simplifying cloud operations and infrastructure management.
Pros:
- Excellent Kubernetes management capabilities.
- Command line interface to trigger operations and inspect resources.
- Works with any public cloud.
Considerations:
- Limited support for non-Kubernetes environments.
- Extensive customization requires steep learning curve.
- Higher pricing for premium features.
5. Argonaut
Overview:
Argonaut is an internal developer platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and monitoring of applications. They improve developer productivity by emphasizing ease of use and seamless integration with existing CI/CD pipelines.
Pros:
- Strong support for cloud infrastructure management.
- Easy integration with CI/CD tools.
Considerations:
- No Azure support.
- Lacks easy to use interface
6. Nullstone
Overview:
Nullstone is an internal developer platform that automates cloud infrastructure deployment and management. They provide tools to help engineering teams achieve efficient application development, deployment, and scaling. Nullstone helps teams streamline workflows, reduce complexity, and enhance developer productivity.
Pros:
- Supports preview environments.
- Integrates with popular CI/CD and observability tools.Has CLI support.
Considerations:
- No Azure support.
- Lacks extensive out-of-the-box observability solution.
7. Mogenius
Overview:
Mogenius provides an internal developer platform for managing microservices and containerized applications. They position their offering as a "Kubernetes Operations Platform" which helps companies achieve comprehensive Kubernetes control.
Pros:
- Strong support for containerized applications.
- Out-of-the-box observability.
- Ability to control resource budgets for each project.
Considerations:
- Limited features for non-containerized environments.
- Doesn’t include infrastructure management capabilities.
- Higher pricing for premium features.
8. Qovery
Overview:
Qovery is an internal developer platform that cuts noise for developers with paved paths to production. They emphasize developer self-service, enabling engineering teams to deploy applications without deep infrastructure knowledge.
Pros:
- Excellent environment management capabilities.
- Powerful CLI and Terraform integrations.
- Strong community support.
Considerations:
- Too many advanced configurations add cognitive load for simple use cases.
- Self-serve plan is gated.
9. Massdriver
Overview:
Massdriver is an internal developer platform that automates cloud infrastructure management. They focus on leveraging their platform to provide a white-glove experience to help organizations solve their DevOps challenges.
Pros:
- Strong support for cloud infrastructure management.
- Easy integration with CI/CD tools.
- White-glove approach.
Considerations:
- DevOps-centric experience (less developer-centric).
- Requires understanding of Infrastructure as Code.
10. Porter
Overview:
Porter is an internal developer platform that automates the deployment and management of applications on Kubernetes. They emphasize deploying applications in your own cloud account, but they also recently introduced Porter Cloud.
Pros:
- Excellent support for Kubernetes deployments.
- Strong automation capabilities.
Considerations:
- Limited features for non-Kubernetes environments.
- Higher pricing for premium features.
- Limited support for database and cache (will have to manage rest of infrastructure outside of Porter).
11. Duplocloud
Overview:
DuploCloud is an internal developer platform that automates the deployment, management, and security of cloud-native applications. They provide tools for infrastructure provisioning, compliance, and monitoring. Duplocloud emphasizes automating your DevOps so developers can focus on code.
Pros:
- Excellent support for cloud-native applications.
- Strong deployment automation capabilities.
- Comprehensive monitoring tools.
- White glove offering.
Considerations:
- Public cloud expertise required to use platform.
- Doesn’t provide higher level abstractions for developers.
Considerations When Choosing an Internal Developer Platform
When selecting an internal developer platform, consider the following factors:
- Integration: Ensure the platform integrates seamlessly with your existing tools and workflows.
- Scalability: Choose a platform that can scale with your organization's growth and evolving needs.
- Ease of Use: Opt for a user-friendly interface that simplifies complex workflows.
- Support and Documentation: Look for platforms with excellent support and comprehensive documentation.
- Cost: Consider the pricing structure and ensure it aligns with your budget.
Why Should You Consider Kapstan?
Existing and emerging infrastructure automation tools lack several critical security and operational capabilities needed by modern engineering teams to achieve end-to-end DevSecOps automation.
Kapstan is the only internal developer platform that gives engineering teams all of the following:
- Developer self-service: Developers can deploy without the DevOps back and forth.
- Customer ownership and portability: You own your infrastructure and won’t suffer the pain of platform lock-in.
- Code-to-cloud security & SOC2 compliance: Bake security into each stage of your development process, from code all the way through cloud infrastructure.
- Out-of-the-box observability: Monitor your applications without additional configuration.
- Cloud cost control: Automatically provision best-fit, cloud-optimized infrastructure without being an infrastructure expert.
Conclusion: Kapstan Makes DevSecOps Accessible to Companies of All Sizes
Internal developer platforms are becoming essential tools for modern software development, offering significant benefits in terms of productivity, efficiency, and developer experience.
The 11 platforms listed above represent some of the best options available in 2024, each offering unique features and capabilities to suit various organizational needs.
By carefully considering your requirements and evaluating the pros and cons of each platform, you can select the best internal developer platform to streamline your DevSecOps processes and enhance your team's productivity.
Want to learn more about how Kapstan can solve your DevSecOps headaches? Schedule a time to talk with one of our engineers.
