The world of DevOps is changing fast. The latest innovation? Internal developer portals (IDPs) such as Backstage, originated by Spotify. An IDP is a framework for building DevOps platforms that offer discoverable, self-service IT infrastructure and automation services, helping developers manage IT services efficiently. IDPs can help streamline workflows, reduce context switching, and enhance governance among developers.

Coming Out Of The Backstage

In 2020, Spotify donated Backstage to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) Sandbox, an incubator for early-stage open-source projects. Since then, it has boomed in popularity and changed the way enterprises approach DevOps, as massive firms such as American Airlines, Ericsson, and IKEA have taken advantage of its unique tools.

As with any new tool, however, it’s important to understand the benefits and drawbacks and assess overall whether an internal developer portal like Backstage is a good fit for your firm.

IDPs Have A Lot Of Benefits …

IDPs serve as the building blocks for scaled-out DevOps platforms. A few benefits of IDPs include the following:

  • Enhanced developer productivity. By creating a self-service platform, IDPs reduce the headaches that occur with old-school ticketing systems.
  • Continuous improvement and integration. Backstage can help integrate legacy tools with new technologies, which can in turn create a more sustainable and continuously improving system.
  • Streamlined governance. By providing a framework to define and automate governance, IDPs simplify it and ensure consistent, error-free deployment pipelines.

… But There Are Still A Lot Of Considerations

While the benefits of IDPs seem like a no-brainer, it’s important to understand whether an IDP is actually a good fit for your organization. Drawbacks include the following:

  • Expectations for the platform are out of sync. Different teams may have different needs and goals for their DevOps practices. It’s crucial to establish metrics for success and foster alignment across stakeholders to avoid misunderstandings and ensure that the platform meets expectations. The process of defining and measuring metrics needs to begin before Backstage is implemented.
  • Most IDPs are frameworks that require assembly. While many teams that implemented Backstage assumed that it would be an easy, free addition to their DevOps practices, that isn’t always the case. Backstage can be complex and requires engineering expertise to assemble, build, and deploy. Exploring commercial IDP options that include an orchestration layer on top of Backstage is another option that may be a better fit for some organizations.
  • Teams fail to treat the platform like a product. Too many platform teams build their platform without including the developers (their customers) in the conversation. This is a recipe for low adoption, which has plagued many platform teams. Instead, treat the platform like a product: Assign a product manager to curate developer needs and build a proof of concept to prove out the value of the platform. Take the learnings from that POC to scale the platform and continue to seek out developer participation.

Platforms are top of mind for Forrester clients, and we are actively researching this space. To help with that research, we encourage vendors of IDPs (platforms or portals) to brief us on their products. Clients of Forrester who have questions on developer platforms or portals are welcome to request an inquiry or guidance session. You can find the full report on IDPs here.