Smart people over-engineering platform infrastructure is one of the most expensive mistakes we see

Smart people over-engineering platform infrastructure is one of the most expensive mistakes we see in mid-size companies. This NASA JPL story perfectly captures what happens when sophistication doesn't match actual needs. Three layers of abstraction. More time maintaining platforms than building features. Two weeks to onboard an engineer. The solution? They ripped it out. Replaced it with something "boring and unsexy" that onboarded engineers in 20 minutes. In our experience working with companies on modernisation, the most successful platforms aren't the most sophisticated—they're the ones that match your team's actual capacity and needs. Not what tools are available. Not what you think you might need someday. What you need right now. We've seen too many engineering teams burn out maintaining infrastructure that's more complex than their core business problems. The boring solution often wins. Your infrastructure should accelerate your team, not slow them down. Full episode on right-sizing platform engineering: https://share.transistor.fm/s/e54c73a9 #PlatformEngineering #Kubernetes #TechLeadership #Engineering #CloudStrategy