As companies grow, teams often rush to deliver software quickly, which can lead to a mix of different software development tools and methods. Each team might develop custom solutions for quick fixes, creating a messy work setup. The hidden costs add up quickly: duplicate tooling licenses, increased maintenance overhead, security vulnerabilities from inconsistent practices, and countless hours lost to integration challenges between disparate systems. All of this isn’t just inefficient — it could directly impact your organization’s bottom line.
A standardized development platform eliminates these inefficiencies. You can align technology investments with broader business goals by creating a unified workspace where all software development teams operate with consistent tools and processes. The result: reduced costs, accelerated delivery, improved security, and a clear competitive advantage.
Benefits of a standardized development platform
Save money: A standardized platform can significantly cut costs. You’ll spend less on licenses, upkeep, and connecting different systems by using one system instead of many separate tools. You’ll also depend less on outside vendors and spend less time and effort training teams on multiple tools.
Launch faster: A centralized platform also speeds up your development process. By streamlining the entire process and bringing tools and workflows together, you can remove the delays you’d find when using many different tools.
Improve security and compliance: When applying the same safety measures across the whole platform, you can reduce vulnerabilities and simplify following regulations.
Get better insights: With a platform approach, you can get precise, accurate data about the entire software development lifecycle, enabling you to improve your teams’ workflows and make data-driven decisions that help the business.
Future-proof your business: Finally, a standardized software development approach ensures you can grow and adapt for the future. As your organization expands, this framework allows teams to grow smoothly without disruption.
Read more: How to accelerate developer onboarding (and why it matters)
5 steps to creating a standardized software platform
Creating a standard software platform is possible for almost any company, but it takes careful planning. Here are five steps leaders can follow to successfully standardize their tools and workflows.
1. Assess your existing tools
First, take a good look at your existing tools and processes. This review should include input from everyone involved, including developers, security experts, and platform engineering teams. The goal is to find areas where tools overlap or don’t work well together, and identify ways to improve the development processes for your customers.
2. Create clear standards and goals
Based on your review, create a set of internal standards and best practices. These should include coding rules, deployment pipelines, and security policies. Make sure these standards support your company’s main goals and that all teams can easily follow them. This is also the time to decide what you want to achieve, like improving teamwork, cutting costs, or making it easier to grow.
3. Use AI to work smarter
AI tools are becoming key to modern software development. Developers can focus on more strategic work by automating routine tasks with AI. AI can also improve security by checking code throughout development, catching problems early before they reach production environments.
4. Create one central system
Once you have standards, you need a place to keep them. A centralized platform can store all documentation, code, and project management tools. With everything in one place, everyone works from the same standards, reducing friction and improving collaboration.
5. Invest in training
Standardization only works if teams know how to follow the standards. Invest in thorough training programs covering all aspects of your standard processes. Ongoing education is key to keeping teams updated with the latest practices across different programming languages, practices, and technologies.
The ROI of platform standardization
The transition to a standardized software development platform is more than a technical improvement — it’s a strategic business investment with measurable returns. Organizations that successfully implement this approach can see up to a 483% overall return on investment, 400% improvement in developer productivity, and 25% savings in software toolchain costs. The result is a more unified, agile, and secure software development process with less technical debt.
As you consider this transformation, remember that the most significant costs often lie in maintaining the status quo. The question isn’t whether you can afford to standardize your development platform, but whether you can afford not to in a market where software capabilities increasingly determine competitive positioning. Begin with a focused assessment of your current environment, build stakeholder alignment around clear goals, and approach implementation as a strategic initiative rather than a technical project.
Transform your software development
Read the 2024 commissioned Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact™ study for a complete picture of how GitLab Ultimate minimized costs, maximized performance, and supported organizations’ growth objectives.
Key takeaways
- Standardizing your software development platform reduces operational costs while increasing delivery speed and security, transforming tech from a cost center to a competitive advantage.
- The five-step standardization process (assess, set standards, leverage AI, centralize, and train) creates a framework for sustainable innovation without the burden of technical debt.
- A unified development platform doesn't just streamline operations — it enables faster market response, better decision-making, and future-proofed technology investments.
