Explore the rise of platform engineering and critical lessons learned from building cloud-native systems in this conference talk. Gain insights into creating cloud-agnostic platforms that support developers' needs for building and delivering domain-specific solutions. Discover how to leverage tools like Crossplane, Backstage, Argo, and Buildpacks to craft a reliable, adoptable, and open foundation for developer and application platforms. Learn about the complexities of platforms, the importance of unified observability, and key metrics for successful platform development. Understand the challenges of Kubernetes, cloud provider considerations, and CI/CD implementation while exploring strategies to deliver a comprehensive view to developers.