Platform Engineering 2026 Predictions Roundup (Platform Engineering 2026 Look Forward Series - Part 5/5)

The series finale of our five-part Platform Engineering 2026 Look Forward Series. We synthesize everything from agentic AI operations, mainstream adoption, developer experience metrics, and boring Kubernetes into ten concrete predictions for 2026. Learn what to invest in versus ignore, and discover our 2026 platform engineering thesis.

In this episode:
- High confidence predictions: IDP market consolidates into 3 tiers, AI-assisted operations becomes table stakes, policy-as-code becomes table stakes
- Medium confidence predictions: Talent gap peaks H1 2026 then stabilizes, "Platform team of one" becomes technically viable
- INVEST IN: Developer experience measurement, self-service capabilities, golden paths, AI-assisted incident response
- 2026 thesis: Invisible infrastructure, measurable experience, AI-augmented (not AI-replaced), product thinking

📰 News Segment:
• KEDA v2.18.3 & v2.17.3 releases
• Google Agent Development Kit for TypeScript
• NIST Atomic Clock Failure at Boulder CO

Perfect for platform engineers, engineering leaders, and DevOps practitioners looking to level up their platform engineering skills.

Episode URL: https://platformengineeringplaybook.com/podcasts/00071-platform-engineering-predictions-2026

Duration: 17 minutes

Host: Jordan and Alex

Category: Technology
Subcategory: Software How-To

Keywords: platform engineering, 2026 predictions, IDP, AI operations, GitOps, policy-as-code