The Blind Spots of Platform Engineering • Matt McLarty & Erik Wilde • GOTO 2025

This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted. #GOTOcon #GOTOunscripted https://gotopia.tech Read the full transcription of this interview here: https://gotopia.tech/articles/380 Matt McLarty - CTO at Boomi & Co-Author of "Unbundling the Enterprise" @mattmclarty4669 Erik Wilde - Principal Consultant at INNOQ @ErikWilde RESOURCES Matt https://bsky.app/profile/mattmclartybc.bsky.social https://x.com/MattMcLartyBC https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmclartybc Erik https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikwilde https://github.com/dret Links https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6417 https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/application-development/richard-seroter-on-shifting-down-vs-shifting-left https://platformengineering.org/blog https://youtu.be/rdZ1U9zvU90 https://youtu.be/0vkY2H2QDC8 https://youtu.be/-5kK50d-duc https://youtu.be/FPfjHon2tFY https://youtu.be/KLYkvRbtCIk https://youtu.be/etKM5-gGwto https://youtu.be/DEHRq8ugd34 https://youtu.be/57UK46qfBLY https://youtu.be/Qdits--aoT4 https://youtu.be/hBxV3Cr0lXY DESCRIPTION Matt McLarty and Erik Wilde explore the nuanced world of platform engineering, challenging conventional approaches and highlighting the critical importance of aligning technological capabilities with business outcomes. They discuss the evolution from DevOps, the role of APIs, and the need to create flexible, reusable technological building blocks that drive true organizational innovation. TIMECODES 00:00 Intro 00:45 Blind spots of platform engineering 15:53 Building for optionality 25:54 Focusing on business outcomes over tech hype 37:56 Outro RECOMMENDED BOOKS Stephen Fishman & Matt McLarty • Unbundling the Enterprise • https://amzn.to/3W2EcXw Carliss Y. Baldwin • Design Rules, Vol. 2 • https://amzn.to/4hdllRr Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais • Team Topologies • http://amzn.to/3sVLyLQ Forsgren, Humble & Kim • Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps • https://amzn.to/3tCz1xO Kim, Humble, Debois, Willis & Forsgren • The DevOps Handbook • https://amzn.to/47oAf3l Gene Kim, Kevin Behr & George Spafford • The Phoenix Project • https://amzn.to/3X9cYxa https://bsky.app/profile/gotocon.com https://twitter.com/GOTOcon https://www.linkedin.com/company/goto- https://www.instagram.com/goto_con #PlatformEngineering #UnbundlingTheEnterprise #Optionality #API #APIs #BusinessStrategy #DevOps #PlatformStrategy #PlatformTeam #SoftwareEngineering #Programming #StephenFishman #MattMcLarty #ErikWilde CHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUS Join this channel to get early access to videos & other perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/join Looking for a unique learning experience? Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket at https://gotopia.tech Sign up for updates and specials at https://gotopia.tech/newsletter SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL - new videos posted almost daily. https://www.youtube.com/user/GotoConferences/?sub_confirmation=1