A survey of 317 decision-makers and influencers responsible for applying platform engineering to the development of custom software destined to run on embedded systems identifies improving cost efficiency (43%) as the primary business benefit of adopting a methodology for managing DevOps workflows at scale.

Conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Qt Group, a provider of a software development framework, the survey finds other drivers of adoption include faster times to market (35%), reduced defect rates (25%) and enhanced code reusability.

The primary business benefits identified include improved end-customer experience enabled by higher quality reliable software (68%), enhanced compliance with industry standards and security (56%), improved brand identity (57%) and workflow efficiency (54%).

Just under half (45%) of respondents also noted that platform engineering contributes to improved DevOps practices. Over half (52%) prefer a dedicated, best-of-breed approach to tooling, compared to 35% prioritize all-in-one, end-to-end capabilities.

Not surprisingly, many organizations are encountering platform engineering challenges, with just under half of respondents (49%) also struggling to balance the reusability of standardized, high-quality components with the need to adapt platforms to various use cases. More than half (51%) also said it continues to be difficult to build software for multiple devices, operating systems, hardware and form factors.

Additionally, half of respondents (50%) said talent shortages is the top platform engineering obstacle, followed closely by integrating legacy platforms (49%).

A total of 43% struggle to maintain self-service capabilities for most use cases, while 41% said cross-functional collaboration is difficult to achieve across design, development, testing and deployment phases. Just over a third (34%) also identified cultural resistance from product teams as an issue.

Finally, 44% noted that embedded systems lack unified user interface processes for accessibility and inclusivity.

Despite these issues, 93% said their company’s leadership supports the organization’s platform engineering strategies.

Maurice Kalinowski, head of technical product management for Qt Group, said applying platform engineering to the development of software for embedded systems is challenging because the environments themselves are so diverse. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of survey respondents said the software they built is created using custom, ad hoc solutions. Organizations that embrace platform engineering need to adopt a more holistic approach to building software, said Kalinowski.

Otherwise, the level of technical debt that builders of custom software will accrue over time will simply become too overwhelming, he added.

At the same time, regulations such as the Cyber Resilience Act enacted by the European Union are making organizations more accountable to the quality of the software they deploy, noted Kalinowski. As a result, there is a pressing need to enforce best software development practices at a time when use cases involving software for embedded systems only continue to expand, he said.

It’s not clear how many organizations are embracing platform engineering but as the number of platforms that software is being deployed on continues to increase legacy approaches to building custom software are being revisited. The challenge, of course, is convincing software developers to buy into a methodology that at some level may require them to limit their tool and platform options in the name of greater good.