Why Every Modern Engineering Team Needs an Internal Developer Portal (IDP)
In today’s fast-paced software development world, especially with the agility of cloud-native environments, most organizations struggle to answer a basic question: What do we actually have in our engineering landscape?
Some argue AI can be used to scan and discover resources, but AI alone is not a sustainable solution. Think of it like placing a robot in a chaotic warehouse - it can help find what you’re looking for once, but it doesn’t organize or track the inventory over time. That’s where an Internal Developer Portal (IDP) becomes essential.
Why IDPs Matter
Ongoing Visibility & Ownership
An IDP acts like a logistics system for your tech warehouse - tracking what exists, what’s outdated, what’s duplicated, and who owns what.
Beyond One-Time Discovery
AI can aid in initial discovery, but an IDP provides continuous structure and visibility that evolves with your engineering landscape.
Start Small, Grow Iteratively
Don’t aim to build the perfect portal from day one. Start with high-value, simple features, and evolve based on real needs across teams.
Built by Engineers, for Engineers
Involve engineers from multiple domains - not just platform or DevOps - to ensure the portal solves real problems across the board.
Improved Developer Experience
With the right IDP in place, developers spend less time searching for documentation, services, or credentials, and more time shipping value.
Key Principles for Building an Effective IDP
- Think logistics, not just search.
- Focus on sustainability, not one-off solutions.
- Build it as a product, not a project.
- Enable cross-team collaboration, not siloed ownership.
Conclusion
An IDP isn’t just a nice-to-have - it’s the foundation of a sustainable, scalable engineering culture. Start small. Think long term. Build together.