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TL;DR
Before you commit budget, it’s critical to set expectations. Both about what you're investing in and what success should look like. Here's how to frame the three major areas:
There’s no shortage of big ideas flying around in engineering right now: AI tools, platform engineering, developer experience (DX). Depending on who you ask, any one of these is the “next big thing.”
But if you're building software with a real team, on a real budget, here’s the question that actually matters:
What’s slowing you down, and what’s worth fixing first?
Let’s walk through the options.
1. AI Coding Tools: Great at Speed, Not Strategy
Tools like GitHub Copilot are great at generating boilerplate, suggesting test cases, or ramping up on unfamiliar code or tech. For junior devs, they’re a superpower. For senior devs, they’re a time-saver.
But they’re not magic. They won’t help you understand the full complexities of a legacy system, or why a certain design decision was made, or what might break if you change something.
If your team is already dealing with unclear ownership, brittle systems, or spotty documentation, AI might help you write code faster—but it’ll also help you ship bugs faster too.
? Takeaway: Learn how to use AI tools, but don’t rely on them to solve architectural messes or team misalignment.
2. Platform Engineering: Buzzword or Bottleneck Killer?
Heard of Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs)? They’re essentially toolkits built by internal teams to make life easier for developers—automating setup, streamlining deployments, and removing friction.
Sounds great. But before building a full platform team, ask: what are the actual pain points?
Are your builds flaky?
Is onboarding slow?
Are your environments inconsistent?
You don’t need a huge platform strategy to fix those. Sometimes a few well-placed scripts, better docs, or a cleaner CI config can get you 80% of the way there.
? Takeaway: You don’t need to “do platform engineering” to improve the platform your team works on.
3. Developer Experience (DX): The Most Overlooked (and Valuable) Investment
DX is about removing all the little (and big) things that slow engineers down—unclear requirements, confusing setups, bad logs, flaky tools.
For junior devs, good DX means you can contribute faster. For senior devs, it means spending less time unblocking others.
It’s not about fancy tools. It’s about:
? Takeaway: Better DX makes everything else work better—AI tools, platforms, your whole team.
So What Should You Invest In?
It depends.
Start with what’s slowing your team down.
Don’t buy tools just because they’re trending.
Small fixes (like clearer docs or more visibility into your system) can pay off quickly.
And if you’re early in your career? Learn how these tools and practices work, but also pay attention to why they’re being adopted. Knowing when to reach for a platform, and when to just fix a broken script, is a key skill as you grow.
What's Next
This is just a brief overview and it doesn't include many important aspects of deciding where to invest your 2025 budget.
My original article on this topic dives a bit deeper into how to make this assessment:
Webinar on AI & Distributed Systems
Why docs go stale. Why debugging distributed systems still hurts. And how AI actually helps.
Join us for a practical deep dive. No hype, just real insights into:
• Real-time visibility
• Automated docs
• Debugging that doesn’t require 6 tabs
? Tue, May 20th @ 2:00PM EDT
?
If you'd like to chat about this topic, DM me on any of the socials (, , , ) - I'm always open to a conversation about tech! ?
Before you commit budget, it’s critical to set expectations. Both about what you're investing in and what success should look like. Here's how to frame the three major areas:
AI Coding Tools
You’re not just buying a tool, you’re investing in developer training, prompt engineering coaching, use case discovery, workforce upskilling, and new governance practices. The goal is to accelerate repetitive programming tasks and future-proof your org by building fluency in this rapidly evolving space.
Platform Engineering
You’re investing in a team responsible for reducing friction in developer workflows. That might mean automating environments, streamlining CI/CD, or managing internal tools. The end goal is to identify shared inefficiencies and create scalable solutions that improve delivery across teams.
Developer Experience (DX)
This is a broader investment in both culture and infrastructure. A mature DX strategy will likely incorporate platform engineering and AI adoption, but it goes further: improving documentation, feedback loops, onboarding, internal tooling, and day-to-day developer happiness. It’s about enabling devs to focus on solving problems, not navigating obstacles.
There’s no shortage of big ideas flying around in engineering right now: AI tools, platform engineering, developer experience (DX). Depending on who you ask, any one of these is the “next big thing.”
But if you're building software with a real team, on a real budget, here’s the question that actually matters:
What’s slowing you down, and what’s worth fixing first?
Let’s walk through the options.
1. AI Coding Tools: Great at Speed, Not Strategy
Tools like GitHub Copilot are great at generating boilerplate, suggesting test cases, or ramping up on unfamiliar code or tech. For junior devs, they’re a superpower. For senior devs, they’re a time-saver.
But they’re not magic. They won’t help you understand the full complexities of a legacy system, or why a certain design decision was made, or what might break if you change something.
If your team is already dealing with unclear ownership, brittle systems, or spotty documentation, AI might help you write code faster—but it’ll also help you ship bugs faster too.
? Takeaway: Learn how to use AI tools, but don’t rely on them to solve architectural messes or team misalignment.
2. Platform Engineering: Buzzword or Bottleneck Killer?
Heard of Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs)? They’re essentially toolkits built by internal teams to make life easier for developers—automating setup, streamlining deployments, and removing friction.
Sounds great. But before building a full platform team, ask: what are the actual pain points?
Are your builds flaky?
Is onboarding slow?
Are your environments inconsistent?
You don’t need a huge platform strategy to fix those. Sometimes a few well-placed scripts, better docs, or a cleaner CI config can get you 80% of the way there.
? Takeaway: You don’t need to “do platform engineering” to improve the platform your team works on.
3. Developer Experience (DX): The Most Overlooked (and Valuable) Investment
DX is about removing all the little (and big) things that slow engineers down—unclear requirements, confusing setups, bad logs, flaky tools.
For junior devs, good DX means you can contribute faster. For senior devs, it means spending less time unblocking others.
It’s not about fancy tools. It’s about:
- Clean onboarding
- Clear documentation
- Reliable environments
- Useful feedback loops
? Takeaway: Better DX makes everything else work better—AI tools, platforms, your whole team.
So What Should You Invest In?
It depends.
Start with what’s slowing your team down.
Don’t buy tools just because they’re trending.
Small fixes (like clearer docs or more visibility into your system) can pay off quickly.
And if you’re early in your career? Learn how these tools and practices work, but also pay attention to why they’re being adopted. Knowing when to reach for a platform, and when to just fix a broken script, is a key skill as you grow.
What's Next
This is just a brief overview and it doesn't include many important aspects of deciding where to invest your 2025 budget.
My original article on this topic dives a bit deeper into how to make this assessment:
Webinar on AI & Distributed Systems
Why docs go stale. Why debugging distributed systems still hurts. And how AI actually helps.
Join us for a practical deep dive. No hype, just real insights into:
• Real-time visibility
• Automated docs
• Debugging that doesn’t require 6 tabs
? Tue, May 20th @ 2:00PM EDT
?
If you'd like to chat about this topic, DM me on any of the socials (, , , ) - I'm always open to a conversation about tech! ?